


PhantomEXE

by kimurasato



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-19
Updated: 2014-04-24
Packaged: 2018-01-20 01:30:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 56
Words: 160,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1491778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimurasato/pseuds/kimurasato
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a fight with an old enemy lands him in the dreaded under level of the computer NetZone, Danny discovers new secrets about himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in 2013 and set the story in an alternate universe where instead of ghosts and the Ghost Zone, there's viruses and the NetZone.

"Fenton," Lancer called as he held out the test paper from their last exam for his student to come collect. His brow was creased, and a frown settled upon his aged face as his green eyes landed upon the young man slowly climbing out of his seat.

Danny gulped nervously, wiping sweaty hands on his pants as he made his way up the row of desks. During the exam last Friday, he didn't feel too confident with his answers. He barely finished reading the chapters that the exam would be on before the start of class that day, and he felt like all the information spilled out of his brain as he struggled to answer all the questions on the exam.

"Good job," Lancer said once Danny made it to his desk to take the test paper. "I hope you continue putting in this much effort for the rest of the year."

Danny stared numbly at the balding man for a few moments before he dropped his gaze to his exam. His mouth dropped open as he gaped at the grade written at the top of the page: a big red A. He passed! Not only did he pass, but he got an A! Lancer was no easy grader, and only a few students actually managed to get an A from him. His sister Jazz was queen of the A's when she was still attending Casper High, but she graduated two years ago and was now off at college.

"Thank you, Sir!" Danny grinned widely, proud of the small achievement. In his four years at Casper High, he worked hard at his studies when he could, but his grades were average, sometimes lower, since the beginning. It wasn't always easy keeping up with his school work when he had other things to deal with in his life. But this year, things seemed to have calmed down, and he was able to focus a lot more of his attention on his studies. It was strange finding how much he enjoyed all the reading and poetry assignments that Lancer gave him, now that he was actually able to get it done.

"You deserve it after the hard work you've been doing." Lancer offered a small smile of pride that one of his students was actually trying when so many of them seemed content to ignore his attempts to encourage them to reach their potential. Danny remembered being one of those students, thinking Lancer a cruel and overbearing teacher that tried too hard to be "hip" with his students. But over the years, he saw that Lancer really did care a lot about his students and he quickly became one of Danny's favorite teachers, though he still found Lancer's work load challenging at times.

The bell rang in the next moment, dismissing everyone from their final class of the day. The other students let a sigh of relief as they gathered up their things and filed out of the classroom. Danny returned to his desk, stuffing his test paper into his bag as he got ready to follow the rest of his class out the door. Slinging his book bag over his shoulder, he left the room then headed down the hallway to find his friends.

The weekend flew by too quickly, and today seemed to drag on too long. It was only Monday, and Danny already wished it was the weekend again. His teachers piled on the homework load, and Danny was convinced there was some sort of conspiracy among the teachers to burden their students with overwhelming amounts of homework. To make it worse, he was stuck doing a group project with Dash, Paulina, and Kwan. How he ended up thrown into the mix with the popular students, he didn't think he would ever know. He wasn't sure about their opinions of his participation in their group. Dash glared at him, as per usual, but Kwan and Paulina didn't seem to show that they cared one way or another about him being included in their group. Unfortunately, they were supposed to meet later that afternoon, after Dash and Kwan finished football practice and Paulina finished cheerleading, to work on the project. Danny sighed at the thought of how well that would go.

A beeping on his watch drew a frown as Danny lifted his arm in front of him. Tapping a button on the side of the watch popped up a rectangular holographic screen. His eyes glowed in the light of the screen, but those around him ignored him as he scanned over what was displayed on the greenish holograph. Danny was a loser at school, and most of the time went virtually unnoticed by the other students. The exceptions were pretty much whenever Dash wanted a punching bag to wail on, though the jock hadn't bothered him in ages, now that Danny thought about it.

A breech in the security at eastern sector of town was not something he could ignore, especially when the reading showed that the virus wasn't contained simply to the NetZone. It was bad enough in the beginning when the viruses popped up all over town, wrecking havoc on the NetZone and even causing damage to the town. In the last year, however, the viruses mutated and found a way to break out of the NetZone and manifest physical forms in the real world. His parents were the leading developers in designing weapons to deal with this threat, but they couldn't handle it by themselves.

Closing the holographic display, Danny hurried down the hallway, seeking a safe spot where he wouldn't be spotted. When he ducked into the boys bathroom, he checked every stall to be certain no other student was present to witness him transform. After four years since the incident, he still wasn't used to that tingle of electricity that ran through him, dancing over his skin, as body shifted from something human to something else entirely. He still couldn't explain exactly what took place the day of the incident when he stepped inside one of his parents' machines to see why it hadn't worked like it was supposed to. He hit some switch by accident, and when he woke next, his body was changed. He panicked that first time when he saw what he looked like in the mirror, resembling the humanoid representation of the viruses infecting the NetZone yet existing outside of it.

When he heard his parents coming, Danny didn't know what to do. He couldn't allow his parents to see him like that, really not wanting to find out what they would do with a virus existing in the real world. He couldn't explain what happened next. One moment his terrified mind was trying to think of escaping somehow, and in the next moment, he felt a surge of energy sucking him _into_ the nearest computer connected to the NetZone. He could enter and exit the NetZone at will if he was near an access point! But after that came the viruses, and Danny decided it was up to him to fight them and stop them from destroying the NetZone as well as the town.

The tingling faded away, and Danny opened his eyes, glancing at the mirror to check his reflection. His eyes glowed green under the white bangs hanging down over his face. A translucent green visor rested atop his head, and he reached up a white gloved hand to pull it down over his eyes. The display brought up a map without him having to think of it, and the blip of activity remained in the eastern part of town.

In this form, he had the ability of flight, though it was limited and he had to use it wisely. Traveling through the NetZone would be the fastest way to reach the virus outbreak. Luckily, almost every room in every building in town had an access point to the NetZone, even the bathrooms. Danny stood before the one to the side of the bathroom door, and in a second, he was yanked forward, drawn into the NetZone with the strange sensation of being broken apart into tiny particles and reassembled within the computer NetZone. The moment his feet touched what was considered the ground of the NetZone, Danny took off running, following the display visor toward the access point nearest the virus.

Inside the NetZone was rather different from the real world. Here, the world seemed blocky with pulses of light passing by him, under his feet, over his head, to the sides. The sky, or ceiling, or whatever it was, was a faded blue with white circuit designs etched all through it. There were areas within the NetZone, he learned on past visits inside, that actually looked similar to the real world with buildings like a little town and programs wandering all around like they were humans. Sometimes, he could even forget that this wasn't the real world when he walked among the programs, even talking to them on occasion. They were friendly and treated him like one of them. He had become somewhat a hero to them after defending them from invading viruses.

Danny hopped atop a block and bounded upward like the series of blocks made up a ladder toward the access point he needed to reach. That was something Danny loved about what happened to him. In this digital virus form, he was able to accomplish feats that he could never dream of as a human. Speed, endurance, strength were all increased. He had various abilities at his disposal that made him seem like some superhero out those comic books he loved to read.

A wide grin spread over his face as Danny leaped through the access point, shooting back out into the real world. The sight that greeted him wasn't unfamiliar to him at this point. His eyes narrowed when he spotted the virus that manifested this time, and he sighed internally at having to fight this one yet again. That was the problem with the viruses. He couldn't destroy them. He could only neutralize them and return them to the system, but eventually they found a way to break free again to cause chaos to the NetZone. It was an endless cycle, and Danny wasn't sure how he could break it when none of his abilities allowed him to put the viruses completely out of commission.

"Hey, tin head!" Danny shouted, raising his hands before him. Green orbs of light formed within his palms as he concentrated on his powers. "This is a no hunting zone." He released the blasts, sending them screaming through the air at the virus decked out in what appeared to be some sort of metal suit.

Hearing Danny's voice, the virus snapped his gaze around, green eyes narrowing as he smirked. A hand raised out before him as a green octagonal shield flickered into existence from his fingers. Danny's blasts slammed into the shield, ricocheting off to the sides and leaving the virus undamaged.

"Ah, my prey finally makes his appearance," the virus said, amusement filling his voice. "I thought you would have arrived much faster."

A shudder ran through Danny at being called prey. It was like that ever since their first meeting when the virus realized that Danny wasn't simply another program from the NetZone. "How did you get out here, Skulker?" Danny demanded as his gaze darted around the area, taking note of the fleeing people. His parents had yet to reach the scene, and Danny hoped to take care of this virus before their arrival.

"That hardly matters." Skulker fired a blast that Danny dodged. But the second attack struck Danny without warning, knocking him to the ground as he grunted in pain.

"Stupid thing," Danny growled at the visor he wore. "You're supposed to warn me about those things." He sat up, rubbing his chest, but he froze when he noticed the shadow cast over him. Raising his head, he gulped as he gazed at the gloating look on Skulker's face.

"I think it's time we finally put this battle to rest, whelp." A weapon rose up from the back of Skulker's suit, aiming at the man at the virus' feet. "This hunt has gone for too long, and at last, I shall have my victory."

Danny narrowed his eyes at Skulker. "Keep dreaming, bucket head." Before the weapon could fire at him, Danny fired another attack.

This time, Skulker was unable to react fast enough to erect a shield to deflect the attack. It struck him in the face, and Skulker released a strangled shout as he pulled at the goopy green substance coating his eyes and blinding him. His weapon fired, but as he stumbled around, it completely missed its target, shooting the glowing net randomly into the air and catching nothing.

Hearing the sounds of his parents' assault RV making its way toward the scene, Danny knew he didn't have time to dally around, playing with his opponent. His parents would try to capture the both of them if possible. Leaping to his feet, Danny charged forward and caught Skulker around the waist. He only had a short opportunity to use his flight, but it was now or never. He powered forward, lifting them both off the ground as he soared toward the access point. When he got near enough, it sucked them both back into the NetZone. They weren't completely safe inside the NetZone, but they were at far less risk than remaining in the real world.

A blast hit his chest after they safely passed through the access point. Danny shouted as he flew backward, releasing his hold on Skulker. His back slammed into the blocks, earning a grunt here and there as he tumbled down the ladder of blocks to the ground level. Once he crashed to the ground, Danny weakly tried to push himself back up, aching all over after the fall. He rubbed at his head, his visor cracked in places and pieces of it broken off. When he heard a noise, his head snapped up, and he spotted Skulker bounding down the blocks, giving chase to his prey.

"He never gives up," Danny grumbled as he hurriedly got to his feet despite the pain.

When he saw the various blasts and missiles firing from Skulker's weapons, Danny managed to erect a feeble shield that protected him from the brunt of the explosion when they all crashed down around him. The damage, however, weakened the structure of the ground. Cracks formed, spreading quickly outward like spider webs, crisscrossing and widening. Danny gulped with fear. He never heard of what lay under the ground level. The other programs refused to speak of it, horror passing through them at the mere mention of something below them. Danny didn't care to find out what had them all scared.

Danny darted forward, desperate to reach solid ground even if it meant running at his enemy. The ground crumbled under his feet with each step. Before him, he watched fearfully as pieces of the ground broke apart, leaving only gaping darkness in its place. Danny leaped for the ground that remained sturdy and solid. The distance was farther than he anticipated, and his flight ability was exhausted. His fingers barely caught hold of the edge of the solid ground. He cried out as the sharp edges cut through his gloves, but his grip wasn't strong enough. He felt his fingers slipping, and he could hear Skulker's footsteps as the virus approached him. Like this, Danny was a sitting duck for the hunter to easily capture him, and perhaps that was his plan by blasting around part of the ground level.

Skulker's face appeared over the ledge, smirking in success, but Danny lost his grip at that point, his fingers slick with blood. Danny's hands grasped desperately at the air around him, praying for something to grab hold of to stop his falling. Maybe once his flight power returned, he would be able to fly out of this darkness. But there was nothing. Only darkness greeted him. The hole in the ground level above slowly grew smaller until eventually it was nothing but a pinprick of light in the enveloping darkness. Danny's eyes slipped shut, abandoning hope that he could somehow live through this. He realized this was probably why the other programs feared what lay below them: because it was a hopeless, endless pit with no escape.

Time passed, but Danny couldn't be certain how much time. It could be seconds or hours or even years, but an echoing noise forced his eyes to open. An eerie glow of green met his blurry eyes as they adjusted after his time in darkness. A gleam of red eyes swam before his eyes.

"So you've come at last, young one."


	2. Chapter 2

It impressed him, really, the change that he saw in young Daniel Fenton over the years since he first entered Casper High four years ago. Lancer shook his head as he gathered up his things, piling papers and books and his laptop into his briefcase after the last student left his classroom. Daniel's older sister Jasmine was a joy to have in class, always bright eyed and eager to learn, taking an active role in what was happening in the school. Lancer was quite aware of the Fenton's obsession with viruses roaming rampant in the NetZone. They were Net Protectors, after all, but their overzealous attitude toward their work often led to their daughter's great embarrassment.

When Daniel showed up on his first day of freshmen year, Lancer expected the same kind of enthusiasm that the rest of his family displayed. Instead he found that Daniel was much more reserved. While he certainly enjoyed his time with his friends, Daniel came off as withdrawn and angry from Lancer's perspective. Being the target of the In crowd's most popular member was of no help there. Lancer could see a glimmer of brilliance in the boy, but Daniel's grades that first year were abysmal. It frustrated him, trying so hard to draw out that brilliance but having Daniel seem to have no care at all about his education.

The two years following freshmen year showed hardly any improvement until this year, his senior year, marked a major change in Daniel. His grades steadily improved since the start of the year. He managed to turn assignments in on time. He wasn't missing as many classes. He scored very well on his tests and exams. He did especially well in English, which made Lancer quite proud, feeling like his influence was helping Daniel to reach his potential. It was times like this that made Lancer happy to be a teacher, getting to shape young minds and watch them grow, to see a student seemingly rise from the ashes of almost certain failure.

Lancer couldn't really put his finger on it, but it felt like Daniel was hiding something. Perhaps he was simply thinking too hard on it, reading too much into the young man's actions, but he couldn't shake the feeling. Daniel's friends, Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley, didn't seem to take much notice of it, sharing laughs with their friend, doing the usual teenage stuff. Lancer stood on the outside, though, and from his objective point of view, he would swear Daniel kept a wall up around his friends, like he had a secret he couldn't share even with his closest friends.

Lancer sighed as he left his classroom, exiting out into the noisy hall where students lingered, meandering in the afterhours of school. Teenagers were always a secretive bunch, he guessed. They thought everything they went through was their problem alone, like no one could ever understand them. They kept things close to the chest, like it meant life or death if their "secrets" were ever revealed. _Ah, the good old days_ , Lancer thought as he waded his way through the students chattering in the halls. _Back when everything was so dramatic_. Sometimes he found himself looking back on those days with fond memories while other times he was relieved to be passed such silliness.

That did not mean, however, that he was completely passed his silliness. He was well aware that he sometimes made himself look like quite the fool in front of his students, especially in his attempts to act hip and cool and relate to them. But he didn't allow the fear of appearing silly stop him doing things. He knew students often had that fear of becoming outcasts if they did anything to draw ridicule in their direction. Teenagers could be quite cruel to their peers, shunning them for being different, taunting them for participating in what the In crowd considers uncool as Lancer knew quite well from his younger days with his dressing up in costumes to attend renaissance faires. Lancer hoped that seeing an adult that was fearless about being silly, making himself a target of his students' ridicule at times, might give his students the courage to be themselves.

But of course, he was still a teacher which meant he sometimes had to be the harsh disciplinarian. Lancer paused in front of one young woman with frizzy orange hair. She ignored his presence as she shoved books into his bag then checked her reflection on the small round mirror hung up on the door of her locker, wiping a smudge of lipstick away with her thumb. Lancer coughed to gain her attention. She twisted around, panic washing through her brown eyes.

"Miss Farborne, cigarettes are not allowed on campus," Lancer said in his stern voice as he held out a hand toward her. His expression spoke volumes of his disappointment at the young woman picking up such a vile habit. With a defeated sigh, Clara Farborne pulled out the pack of cigarettes that Lancer spotted her cramming into her bag then shoved it into his waiting hand. "If I catch you with cigarettes again, I'll have to speak with your parents."

Lancer crushed the pack of a cigarettes in his hand as he continued on his way down the hall. He hoped that Clara would heed his warning, but students often times refused to obey the rules. He would never understand why people took up the filthy habit of smoking cigarettes that caused so many health problems. When he arrived in the teachers' lounge, he tossed the crumpled pack into the trash can, glad to be rid of it. The lounge was rather empty, the rest of the teachers probably lingering in their classrooms to finish up grading papers and preparing for the next day.

Lancer, however, needed coffee. After setting down his briefcase on one of the tables, he walked over to the counter and retrieved his favorite mug to pour himself a cup of coffee. It wasn't the best coffee, often having a slight metallic taste to it and sometimes a little grainy, strangely. But he got used to it after his years of being a teacher. Sipping from the mug, he returned to the table where he left his briefcase. They would be starting their Shakespeare section next, and he needed to type out the syllabus to have ready for tomorrow. He popped open his briefcase and retrieved his laptop, placing it in front of him as he opened it.

The icon for his favorite online game Doomed glared at him from the lower right hand corner of the screen, tempting him to log on and lose himself in the game for several hours. Ignoring that temptation, he opened up a new document before grabbing his notes from his briefcase to look over the order of plays they would be reading and discussing for class. When he turned back to the laptop to start typing, the lights flickered. Lancer glanced up warily at that strange occurrence, frowning at the fluorescent lights overhead. An eerie laugh yanked his attention back to his computer, and he jumped out of his chair when he saw the weird glitchy pattern over his screen that flickered to a stream of coding.

Virus! Lancer panicked as the virus ate at the data on his laptop. He might be the high scorer, the best player, in Doomed, but his knowledge about fighting off a virus in his computer was sadly lacking. The high school's security and firewall were supposed to protect them from viruses unless someone brought it into the school's system. Lancer stormed out of the teachers' lounge, knowing there was nothing he could do against the virus on his own. He needed someone that knew all about computers and viruses and might know how to stop the virus from completely destroying everything on his laptop.

Everyone in school knew how much of a techno geek Tucker Foley was, and Lancer considered heading straight for him, but that trio of friends tended to leave the school almost immediately after classes ended. Not unusual really, as none of the three friends had any afterschool activities to attend. That was fine though. Lancer knew of someone else that would be of great help to him at that moment. Finding the four teenagers, he stopped before the In crowd who all fell silent at the presence of a teacher.

"I didn't do it this time, Sir," Dash spoke up immediately with that hard look in his blue eyes that said he wouldn't be taking the fall for something his fellow jocks did.

Lancer landed the blond man with a bland look. Though he trusted Dash to have wised up a bit in the past four years and stay out of trouble, he knew the jock still participated in bullying, though his attention toward a certain young, raven haired man lessened recently. "I do hope that's true," he said before turning his attention onto the other jock present. "Mr. Long, if you will, follow me." He turned on his heel and headed back toward the teachers' lounge. He didn't need to throw a glance over his shoulder to know the dark haired man would be following after him.

"Ugh, I can't believe you would invite that loser to your house," Valerie complained, her voice carrying through the hall.

"It's not like I want Fenturd there," Dash grumbled unhappily. "It's to work on a stupid class project."

Lancer sighed as they walked out of range of the conversation. Those stereotypes never went away. Every year, new students entered the school and immediately got slapped with labels that stuck with them until they graduated. It was one of the things that he hated most about high school. He saw it often enough where those that are called losers try so hard to break free of that label, to seek approval from the A list, to be accepted. Daniel was one of those many cases. He had friends and loved them, but being stuck on the bottom rung of the social ladder left him wanting to climb higher, reach for the social circle that remained forever out of his grasp. There were students that would grovel at the feet of the In crowd for the mere hope of moving up the social ladder, but this was usually a cruel joke of the In crowd, using those students' hopes to do things for them.

"Um, Sir," Kwan spoke up in that meek manner he had when he thought he might be in trouble. "Have I done something wrong?"

Lancer imagined the gears grinding in the young man's head, scrambling to uncover some idea of what he could have done to land himself in trouble with his teacher. "No, I simply require your assistance." They returned to the teachers' lounge with little more conversation. Kwan wore a nervous expression as he followed Lancer over to the laptop still sitting where he left it on the table. "I seem to have a virus infecting my laptop."

"And," Kwan licked his lips, some of the color draining from his face, "you expect me to do what?"

"Well, I certainly don't expect you to toss it around like a football," Lancer responded dryly with slight annoyance in his green eyes. "You may have the idiot act down enough to fool your classmates, but I'm not as blind as they are. I do wish you would be a bit more true to yourself, Mr. Long."

"Yeah," Kwan mumbled as he took a seat in front of the laptop, "right." Aqua green eyes glanced hesitantly up at his teacher before Kwan turned his attention back to the laptop. "Because a jock that's also a techno geek would go over so well with the rest of the school. I'd be laughed out of the A List."

Lancer shook his head. The labels even made the In crowd scared of being who they really were. He watched over the young man's shoulder as Kwan's fingers flew over the keyboard, typing with quick, deft strokes that would amaze anyone who believed his hands were good for nothing more than catch a football. Windows popped up over the screen with coding that Lancer couldn't even begin to understand, though Kwan seemed to know exactly what it all meant. It really shouldn't have surprised him after seeing the man's grades, though most of his peers probably thought he was passing merely due to having some nerd doing all his homework for him. He should have pushed Kwan into acting, because clearly the jock had learned the art of performing for an audience.

"What the hell kind of virus is this?" Kwan asked after a moment more of trying to fight off the virus within the laptop.

"Language," Lancer said firmly, his eyes narrowing half a fraction.

"Sorry." Sitting back in the chair, Kwan turned his gaze up toward Lancer. "I," his brow creased in obvious confusion, "think this might be a problem."

"How so?" Lancer frowned, not like that uncertainty in his student's voice. The jock was far more clever about the workings of technology than Lancer, and his bafflement over one virus couldn't be a good thing.

"Well, it seems like the virus originated from within the school," Kwan explained, and Lancer nodded, having believed that would be the likely case, "on the surface."

"On the surface?" Lancer raised an inquisitive eyebrow at that.

"Uh, well, this virus is pretty sophisticated." Kwan dropped his gaze back to the laptop as he started typing again. "It's not something that any of the students here could develop, or any of the teachers. But whoever created it, wanted us to believe that it came from within the school. Which seems kind of weird since all it's doing right now is eating at the personal information on the students. I mean, what's the point of that? It's not like the school has any information that would be all that damaging to us." He glanced at his teacher, like he was expecting to be told otherwise.

"So if it didn't come from within the school, where did it come from?" Lancer ignored the jock's look. Most of the information the school had on students was the boring dull stuff, like their grades, their families, their home addresses and telephone numbers. School records listed wrongdoings and inappropriate behavior, which might not be all that damaging for some students. What had Lancer worried about a virus collecting information on his students, beyond what the creator wished to do with that information, was the records for the school's counselors. They kept psych notes from sessions with students detailing whatever was spoken about in private. Though he wasn't an official counselor, Lancer did speak to his students from time to time, wanting them to trust that they could come to him with any problems. He didn't like the idea that someone out there might be collecting that kind of information on his students.

"That's part of the problem." Kwan frowned in deep concentration as he continued working on the laptop. "I can't track it past the school. And I can't figure out whose signature is in the coding."

"Signature?"

"Everyone tends to put their own little thing in when they code something. Makes it kind of easy for others to identify who created a program or virus and stuff. But," Kwan shrugged with a defeated look, "I don't recognize this one."

Lancer opened his mouth to question his student when the door to the teachers' lounge opened with a loud bang as it hit against the wall, making teacher and student jump in surprise. In the doorway stood two men dressed in white suits. One was a fair skinned man with his head shaved of all hair except for his bushy black eyebrows. The second man had short fuzz of black hair on his head with bronze skin and an obvious Asian ancestry despite the dark shades that hid his eyes.

"Hands up and back away from the laptop," goon in white one ordered in a sharp bark.

"What do you want with my laptop?" Lancer demanded, hands on hips as he glared at the two men.

"We tracked a virus to this location," goon in white two stated, and though he couldn't see the man's eyes, Lancer suspected they were locked on his student. "That makes your laptop government property."

"We'll," goon in white one laughed with half a smirk, "try to return it to you. Once we've wiped it clean of the virus." He stepped up to the table and closed the laptop. With his head bent down, Lancer could make out his green eyes. "Have a good day now." He collected the laptop, tucking it under one arm as he returned to where his partner stood, still in the doorway.

Lancer's eyes narrowed darkly at the two agents from the GiW as they left the teachers' lounge. His hands clenched in frustration at the fact that they would come into _his_ school and take _his_ property. He would have preferred the Fentons over the GiW coming into the high school. Phantom would have been an even better choice.

"I have to get going anyway," Kwan mumbled as he stood up, adjusting his bag over his shoulder. "Got football practice and that project to work on and all."

Lancer frowned even more as he watched his student leave. Sometimes, it was the students he wanted to talk to him the most that always remained quiet.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny stared at the program hovering over him with those red eyes gazing down at him, piercing into him with an irritating, and slightly creepy, all knowing look. The words spoken registered slowly in his mind, and Danny jerked away from the program with a startled shout. He slipped off the edge of the raised blocks to crash upon the ground, banging elbow and head hard against the cold, unforgiving floor. When he sat up, he rubbed at his head as he looked around his surroundings. The room was wide and spacious, and the echoing noise that filled it, Danny now realized, sounded like the ticking of a clock. A golden pendulum swung through the center of the room, causing a slight breeze to tug at Danny's white hair with each pass. At the base of the columns supporting the ceiling of the room were statues of cloaked figures holding deadly looking scythes. The whole room was cast in a greenish glow, and Danny reached up to find his visor resting atop his head instead of covering his eyes.

"You have nothing to fear here, young one."

Danny frowned as he snapped his gaze to the program, recalling what gave him such a fright upon waking. Programs manifested humanoid appearances in all manners of designs, and after all the programs and viruses he encountered in the NetZone, this one hardly looked out of the ordinary to Danny. The program wore a purple cloak, but even with the hood raised, it didn't hide his face in shadows. The bluish skin wasn't unusual as Danny saw programs with all kinds of different colors. Skulker was bright green under that tin can of a helmet he wore. A scar ran over his left eye, and Danny briefly wondered how the program came by it. His chest caught Danny by surprised as he watched the swinging pendulum attached to a clock behind what looked like a glass door, giving it the feel of a grandfather clock. The straps of his gloves also bore clocks.

"And who exactly are you? The Watchman?" Danny's brow drew together as climbed to his feet. "And where is this? It's not part of the under level is it? It didn't look there was anything but empty space below the ground level." After another look around the room, his green eyes slipped back toward the program. Danny remained on guard in the presence of the other program, not knowing whether this program was going to attack or not. So far, it looked like not.

"I am Clockwork," the program introduced himself as he leaned on a staff that Danny didn't notice until now. Much like everything else about the program, the top of the staff was decorated with a clock, and if Danny squinted, he thought he could make out a W etched into the top piece surrounding the clock that actually looked similar to a C. Danny had to wonder what exactly was the program's deal with clocks. "And this," Clockwork continued, using one arm to gesture to the room, "is my tower." Above them, a bell rang out what Danny could only guess was the hour.

Danny stared up into the darkness consuming what should be the ceiling. The walls and columns stretched up and up until they could no longer be seen, even the top of the pendulum was obscured by the shadows. "And your tower exists in the under level?" He dropped his gaze back to Clockwork as he frowned at this development. When he fell into the under level, Danny thought for sure he was a goner. It didn't look like there was any coming back from the fall, possibly a worse fate than being erased because he would still be conscious but forever trapped in that dark space.

"My tower exists in a non locatable section of the NetZone, and very few programs are granted access to it," Clockwork explained, watching Danny with his annoying piercing red eyes. "When you fell into the under level, I pulled you free of it." He raised a hand and swung it around, causing various screens to appear encircling them.

"What are these?" Danny spun around, his eyes darting from screen to screen. Each one showed a different location within the NetZone, displaying what the various programs and viruses were doing in each of those locations. "Wait!" Danny stumbled closer to one of them, his eyes growing wide as he stared at himself facing off against Skulker. He watched the ground start crack under his feet before he started running desperately to reach solid ground. "This already happened. So you just display the past?"

Clockwork chuckled at him. "I see all." He came to stand at Danny's side and tapped at the screen a few times. The image on the screen severed into twenty smaller squares, each showing Danny, not one looking identical but all seeming several years older. "These are just a sampling of what you will become ten years from now based on your choices."

"Why do I have red eyes in this one?" Danny pointed at the screen, but the program yanked his hand away before he touch it.

"You have no need to know what lays in your future." Clockwork waved a hand, and the various screens disappeared. "In knowing, you could change the course of time. I merely wanted to demonstrate the means in which I rescued you from your doomed fate. I opened a portal from here, reached into the under level, and pulled you here to safety."

"But why?" Danny's brow furrowed as he tried to understand what this program wanted from him or why it would want to save him. "You could have just left me there."

"But you're the great Phantom." Clockwork smirked at him. "I've witnessed everything you've done since you were granted these abilities. And there is still much good you can accomplish, but for that, you need to be free of the under level."

Danny frowned as his gaze lowered to the white gloves he wore in this digital form. "Skulker's grown a lot stronger since I last fought him." He raised his head to stare at Clockwork. "But I don't think I've gotten any stronger. How can I beat the viruses if they keep surpassing me in strength? I can't even really put a stop to them. They keep coming back."

"Strength isn't always everything." Clockwork tapped the end of his staff against the side of Danny's head. "You'll learn there's still a lot more to what you are than what you've seen so far. I believe there is someone that may be able to help you far better than I."

"Someone better than a program that apparently knows the whole of time?" Danny lifted an eyebrow at the program.

"Which is why I know he'll be a better teacher." Clockwork held out a hand toward Danny.

"Who exactly designed your program?" Danny grabbed hold of Clockwork's wrist while the program's hand closed around his wrist. "I didn't think it would be possible for someone to code a program that can see events into the future or create a portion of the NetZone that can't be accessed."

Clockwork smirked as he twisted Danny's arm to the left. Closing his eyes, Danny shuddered at the surge of data being transferred to him. He didn't think he would ever get used to this mode of information sharing. It made his body tingle as the data packets entered his digital structure, filing away into his mental database. When the transfer completed, Clockwork turned Danny's arm back to the right then released his hold.

"I was not created," Clockwork answered while Danny stared at his white gloved hand, flexing his fingers like he usually did after a data transfer. "I merely came into existence when the NetZone was created. A glitch, if you will. I've existed since the very beginning. This place," he looked around at his home, "was not designed by the humans, which is why it can't be found by users at random."

Danny lifted his gaze back to Clockwork. "What if I need to speak with you again?"

The smirk remained on Clockwork's face. "Then I will find you."

Clockwork raised a hand, conjuring up a screen large enough for Danny to step through it. Inside the screen was a hallway made up of ones and zeros, reminding Danny of the binary coding that he failed to learn in his computer science class. For someone partially made up of digital coding, Danny's knowledge was greatly lacking. Thinking of that, Danny wondered if it might wise for him to finally tell Tucker what happened to him four years ago. Maybe with Tucker's help, he could learn how to get stronger to battle the viruses. Dropping his gaze back to his hand, Danny wondered who exactly Clockwork wanted him to meet to be his teacher.

"I do believe you've dallied here long enough," Clockwork said as he placed a hand on Danny's shoulders. "Didn't you have some users to meet for some sort of school function?"

Danny blinked then his eyes grew wider. "Oh no! How long was I out?" His hands went to his head, fingers threading through white hair. "Dash is going to kill me if I'm late!" Danny darted toward the portal then paused just inside it to turn back to Clockwork. "I guess this is goodbye," he said uncertainly as he frowned at the program, or whatever Clockwork was exactly.

"Until time allows us to meet again." Clockwork smiled in a knowing way, like he knew the precise moment they would meet again, and if he could see what lay in the future, Danny guessed he probably did know.

With a nod, Danny turned back to the portal and jogged through tunnel of binary code. On the other side, he came out near an access portal. Bringing down his visor, Danny checked his location on the map and blinked in surprise to find that he was close to Dash's house. His gaze drifted back to the portal, that already closed by that time, as he realized Clockwork probably picked this location for Danny's convenience. Passing through the access point, he glanced around quickly to make sure no one was around to spot him. He arrived in a back alleyway between rows of a houses, and he ducked quickly behind a dumpster to get out of view. With a sigh and hoping he wasn't spotted, Danny reverted back to his human self, his digital form turning blocky and fuzzy before blinking out of existence and leaving behind a normal looking teenager.

Danny stood up slowly, his gaze slowly scanning the area as he waited for some cry of surprise to indicate someone had spotted the program entity know as Phantom disappeared behind where a young man appeared seconds later. When nothing happened, he decided that his secret remained safe. Danny started to walk down the alleyway but halted when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Turning his head toward it, Danny stared at the blink of green showing between the gap of two houses. He rubbed at his eyes, but when he dropped his hands, the green light remained in his vision. Reaching up, he tapped a finger at the air where he saw the light. A greenish screen popped into existence before him, and Danny stumbled back, having not expected anything to happen since that usually only worked when he was in his digital form.

Swallowing thickly, Danny approached the screen and pressed forefinger and thumb to it. When he spread finger and thumb outward, the screen zoomed in on that light. He repeated the process a few more times, zooming through the town until the light grew bigger. Focusing on the light, a dialogue box appeared over the green spot.

"Vlad Masters," Danny mumbled, blinking at the name knowing it from the constant use involving new technology being released. Vlad Masters owned one of the biggest companies in the world, and almost everyone used his products. His operating system was considered the best in the world for computers, and he released top of the line virus protection. Danny frowned at the display screen before him, wondering why it would be showing him the location of this man.

Dropping his gaze to his right hand, Danny remembered the data transfer with Clockwork. Did Clockwork want him to meet with this Vlad Masters person? He frowned at that thought, not wanting to tell his secret to a perfect stranger. He still never even told his best friends! But if this man could help him get stronger and better at fighting the viruses, maybe it was worth a shot to speak with him.

"Ah, the project!" Danny remembered with a jolt as he closed the display screen. That was the whole reason he was in this neighborhood, and if he didn't make it to Dash's house on time, he could expect a sound beating from the jock. Danny jogged out of the alleyway and down the street to Dash's house. When he arrived there, he pressed on the doorbell before leaning against the side of the house next to the door as he caught his breath.

"Took you long enough," Dash grumbled when he opened the door. He looked Danny over and raised an eyebrow at the other man. "You run all the way here?"

"Let's just get this over with," Danny said as he entered the house. "The sooner we get all this done, the sooner you can kick me out of the house."

An odd look passed over Dash's face. "Come on then." He led the way up the stairs to his bedroom.

Danny released a quiet sigh, thankful that the jock at least didn't punch in the face for his grouchy comment. He followed Dash to his bedroom where Danny suspected the other two members of their group waited. It was his first time ever being invited to Dash's house, though he always hoped to be invited to one of the jock's parties. Being a loser, however, Danny never made it on the invitation list. He sighed at that fact, wondering if he would be a loser for all of his life.

When he followed Dash into the bedroom, Danny halted in the doorway as he glanced around the room. It didn't surprise him that Dash wasn't exactly the neatest person in the world. Danny's bedroom was like a disaster zone with the mess he made. Dash was actually a little cleaner, though not by much. The thing that made him freeze was the giant poster of his digital form taped up over the head of Dash's bed. There were smaller photos posted up around it, and Danny felt his mouth dropping open at the sight of them. He didn't even know how Dash could have gotten any of those images of him while he was fighting viruses.

"What's the matter, Fenturd?" Dash demanded, grabbing hold of Danny's arm and dragging him into the bedroom so that he could close the door.

"I just, uh," Danny fumbled for words as he gestured at the pictures, and the three popular teens turned to look at what caught the loser's attention.

"You don't know about the Phantom program?" Kwan asked with a laugh. "Dash is crazy about the guy. A total fan boy." Grinning madly, he ducked out of the way as Dash tried to whack him with a pillow. Danny was glad their attention wasn't on him at that moment as he fought off a blush at the fact that Dash was such a big fan of his. He wondered how Dash would react if he knew who the Phantom program really was.

"Let's just get on with this," Paulina said impatiently as she sat at the desk. "I still have other homework to do, and I'd rather not waste the whole night working on some silly play for class."

"It's worth a large part of our grade," Dash pointed out as he and Kwan sat at the foot of his bed. "Anyone have an idea for a play? I can't believe we have to perform it for a bunch of little brats." He groaned at the thought.

"Hey, you're the one that suggested we take this class," Kwan reminded. "I believe you said it would be an easy A."

"Don't remind me." Dash glared at his best friend.

"Well, a fairytale might be good," Danny suggested, leaning against the wall for lack of anywhere to sit with Paulina at the desk and Dash and Kwan on the bed. He preferred to keep his distance from the blond jock, just in case. When all three turned their attention on him, Danny shifted uncomfortably under their gazes.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Paulina said as she brought up a document on the computer to start writing out a script. "But which one? There are so many to choose from."

"Something short," Dash suggested, clearly wanting something that they would be able to perform quickly and get out of the way in a hurry.

"What about Little Red Riding Hood?" Kwan offered as he leaned back on his hands. "That shouldn't be too long."

"Yeah, but we wouldn't all be included. It's mostly just Red and the Wolf," Dash argued with a frown.

"Oh! The Three Little Pigs," Danny put in when the thought hit him. "That has four characters."

"I don't want to play a pig." Paulina made a face of disgust at the idea that she might end up as a pig.

"You could be the wolf then," Danny offered, not caring what role he ended up with so long as they chose an idea and got it finished tonight.

"I'm fine with that idea." Kwan shrugged, and all eyes fell onto Dash.

"Whatever," Dash muttered as he looked away, clearly not caring what play got chosen.

With the play picked, they all gathered around Paulina at the desk to help write the script. Danny relaxed a little as they all gave their input on the script and Paulina typed it up. The group meeting didn't go as badly as he expected when he first heard he would be stuck with the three popular students, but he guess the three of them were just as eager to get the play writing done and over with as he was. At the rate they were working, they would be done with the script maybe with an hour or two. Then Danny could go home, which made him smile until he remembered the rest of the homework he had to finish.


	4. Chapter 4

He recalled the gloating smirk that spread over his face when he saw his prey catch hold of the ground, grasping at the edge where the ground level of the NetZone remained for his life. Phantom wasted his ability to fly when they reentered the NetZone, leaving him unable to do anything beyond clinging desperately while Skulker made his way leisurely to the edge. Phantom wouldn't be able to escape him this time. His prey would finally be his to collect, to brag about to all the other viruses, that he, Skulker, ended the threat of Phantom.

_So weak_ , Skulker remembered thinking when he watched Phantom hanging there below him. Four years ago, Phantom seemed like a terror, beating every virus that came his way, stopping them at every turn from completing their purposes. But while Skulker and other viruses grew stronger, even finding ways of breaking out of the NetZone to manifest a physical form in the real world, Phantom remained the same, if not weaker than he was in those early days of his odd existence.

But he was foolish in his smug sense of victory. When Phantom's grip failed him, when he plummeted into the under level, the dark recess beneath the ground level that went unspoken about, Skulker could only watch in stunned silence, his expression falling much like his prey. He took a moment too long in relishing his win, missed his opportunity to snag the rogue program. He didn't dare chase after Phantom, even with his new jet propulsion ability. No virus would be stupid enough to enter the under level. Once he entered it, there would be no way to escape it. Endless darkness, forever falling, unable to move but remaining conscious; it was a fate he wouldn't wish upon any of his enemies, even Phantom. Yet he could nothing at this point to save the rogue program from his terrible fate.

Skulker ran a hand back over the metal of his head, steel fingers sliding through the strip of a flaming green as he walked into the usual hangout of his kind. The Vortex was a spot located in the dark part of the NetZone where viruses tended to gather when not wrecking havoc for the users. It was a business venture created by a virus named Nocturne years ago. The viruses that frequented the place liked to gamble with data, exchanging what they collected recently. On rare occasions, a virus would have a program up for auction that other viruses would jump at the chance to acquire. He recalled one such event that happened a while ago when Spectra bought a short program called Bertrand that she eagerly corrupted to suit her purposes.

Walking up to the bar, Skulker dropped onto one of the stools. His head rested in his hand as he leaned on the counter, grumpily watching the data streaming across the screens over the back of the bar. As usual, The Vortex was loud with the chatter of other viruses, shouting rising up every now and then when fights broke out over something ridiculous like cheating at a game. Green eyes rolled at that, knowing they were all guilty of cheating, swindling, short changing each other to greedily collect more data for their own taking.

"What happened to you?"

Skulker tore his gaze away from the streaming data to the female virus that appeared before him. A smile almost made its way over his grouchy face when he spotted her. Her black clothes hugged around her body, showing off her curves, her top with the one strap over her right shoulder cutting off to show off a generous amount of her midriff. Her fiery bluish hair was drawn back into its usual high ponytail with the bangs left lose to frame her face.

"You look like someone just destroyed your favorite weapon," she continued with a lift of one delicate eyebrow as she moved around data on a screen made of translucent red energy.

"Well," Skulker said, allowing a smirk to slip onto his face as he sat up a bit straighter, "I'm surprised you're stuck working behind the bar. Not allowed to play for the house anymore, Ember?"

"After that last time?" She scoffed, green eyes glowering, and she nearly shattered the screen in her hands from the tight grip she had on it. "Do you really think Nocturne would allow me the chance to play again?"

"You did make the whole place go crazy," Skulker reminded as he thought back to that incident. Ember was a music type virus that corrupted audio files with her hypnotic songs. When she played for the bar several months ago, she turned every virus present into her mind controlled slaves. Nocturne was not pleased with that, and Skulker thought he was probably happy he wasn't there to see the aftermath of Ember's one and only performance at The Vortex.

"What can I say, baby? I'm infectious." Ember smirked, purple lips stretching sideways across her face. After placing the screen into a slot in the countertop, she folded her arms. "Are you planning on getting in on the action here? Or do you plan to continue sitting there like a useless lump?" Her gaze turned annoyed as she held out a hand, rubbing fingers against thumb. "This is a business. If you're not going to deal in data transfer, you can get out."

"You're going to kick me out?" Skulker snorted as he stood from the stool. With his hands on the countertop, Skulker leaned forward, putting his face close to hers. "You would kick out the virus that finally took out that pesky Phantom?" He grinned widely, waiting for her reaction to that news. It would be more impressive if he had Phantom to cart around and show off his superiority. But with the rogue program lost in the under level, he would have to settle for simply boasting about it verbally. Soon it would be all over the NetZone that he brought down the great Phantom program.

Ember stared at him, vibrant green eyes narrowing as she examined his face, perhaps thinking to catching him in a lie. "You expect me to believe you took out Phantom?" She shook her head, her long flaming hair swishing behind her like the tail of a cat. "Please," she shifted her weight, hip jutting out as she gazed dully at him, "like I'd fall for that one. Nice try, Skulker, but you'd probably have better luck convincing the Box Bug. He'd buy just about anything you tried to sell him."

"You think I'm lying?" His mouth twisted to the side, eyes alight with amusement. Standing up straight, Skulker reached out a hand to her, and a screen of neon green energy appeared within his palm.

Ember stared at it hesitantly, eyes crinkling as they narrowed suspiciously at the screen. When she snatched it from his hand, it was with a look that said she wasn't about to buy the game he was playing. Her lips pursed in a thin line as she touched a finger to the screen, skepticism in her eyes. Skulker waited eagerly with a smug look on his metal face while the scene of what happened earlier in his fight against Phantom played out on the screen. Her expression didn't change as the images flickered over the screen, obvious to her that there was nothing doctored in what she was viewing. It wasn't tampered with, and that fact seemed to sour her mood when the scene came to a close.

"Well, sweetheart." Skulker plucked the screen from her hand before letting it fade out of existence. "What do you have to say now?"

Ember rolled her eyes at the proud grin on his face. "And you expected what exactly? I'd watch that dinky little clip and fall madly in love with you like an idiot? Please, I'm not some sad sap."

"I defeated Phantom," Skulker argued, almost gaping at the fact that she acted so utterly unimpressed by that face. She stood there, arms crossed with boredom in her green eyes like he announced something as pathetic as tricking Klemper into thinking Johnny wanted to be friends with him. He frowned, his mouth thinning, refusing to acknowledge it as a pout when she didn't shower him with praises over his success. "This is big news. You could act a little more excited about it."

"Why would I be excited?" A finger tapped out a beat on her arm as Ember waited for him to explain it to her. "You didn't do anything. Not really. All you did was blow up the ground level, and he fell into the under level." A hush fell over the bar at the mention of the under level. All the viruses present paused in their chatter, their gambling, as they all turned to stare at the pair. "Oh, cut with the dramatics!" Ember snapped, scowling at the viruses. "Go back to being idiots and stop eavesdropping on our conversation." Green eyes narrowed dangerously, and many of the viruses twisted back around to return to their business. Those that didn't tried, and failed, to subtly continue listening in to what Skulker and Ember discussed. She huffed a sigh at that as she dragged her gaze back to Skulker. "Phantom might be lost to the under level, but you," she bent her arm, turning her fist palm up as she pointed a finger at him, "Mr. Expert Hunter, failed to actually capture him. You would have been rolling in data beyond what any one of us could imagine having if you actually brought him here to be auctioned off."

"Auction him off?" Skulker barked out a laugh. "Why would I auction off my greatest prize? I'd mount that pesky rogue program to my wall and show him off like all my other successful hunts. Just like I did when I collected the sword of the Fright Knight." He leaned forward on the countertop, waiting to hear songs of praise for his amazing skills as a hunter.

"Right," Ember said, drawing the word out as she nodded her head. "I don't consider it a success when your prey plummets into the under level like a brick. And the Fright Knight? Please! You took it from him while he was sleeping. Which, by the way, he's still looking for your head on a silver platter for taking it. You're just lucky he hasn't tracked you down yet. He was, after all, the dog for Pariah Dark." She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, shoulders slumping half an inch when another hush fell over the bar. "If you all keep that up, I'm getting my guitar and making you all do something you'll greatly regret." That got all of them to turn away from the conversation. None of the viruses wanted a repeat of being under Ember's mind control.

Skulker ground his teeth, scowling at Ember. "What's a guy got to do?" he muttered to himself, not understanding the way a female virus' mind worked. "Why do we continue playing this game?" he asked in a change of tactics. "No one else has any interest in you, but you keep pushing me away. Let's cut the act already."

The boredom from listening to his boasting quickly changed to anger, hands gripping biceps tightly, teeth clearly clenching, a storm of fury raging in her eyes. "You think I can't get a guy?"

From the darkening look in Ember's eyes, Skulker wondered if perhaps he said the wrong thing. "I don't see any guys lurking around here trying to get with you." He leaned on one arm and smirked. "Other than me. And really, why would they bother when they see me with you? Might as well throw in the towel and admit we're made for each other."

"Oh there's a laugh!" Ember raised the back of one hand to her mouth and laughed cruelly. "Made for each other? You have to be joking! Only someone with a few screws loose in their heads would want to be with you. You're too obsessed with your stupid hunts to pay attention to anything else. Why would I want some idiot that can't even capture Phantom and will ignore me the moment something new pops up to chase after? Thanks, but no. I'd rather stay single than deal with a virus like you." She shook her head, still chuckling.

Rage boiled through him. "I could have captured him!" Skulker shouted, slamming down a fist hard enough to send cracks spider webbing over the countertop. The sound drew attention to them again, but both viruses were so fueled with anger that they didn't pay attention to the other eyes upon them. "What did you want me to do? Jump into the under level and fish him out of there? No one is that stupid!"

"And bravo," Ember said sarcastically as she clapped her hands. "You've lost Phantom to the under level. You're the big bad virus that got rid of the pest. Let's celebrate." She lowered her gaze to his fist. "Nocturne is going to make you pay for that."

"He's not lost."

The voice drew both of their attention to another virus sitting at the counter. He had screens open all around him, filtering through data, picking out pieces and tossing it away like garbage that other viruses eagerly jumped on to add to their own collection. Skulker frowned as he watched the virus with the clear top of his head showing what would look like a human brain. He saw pictures of such things when he looked at information about the human anatomy once. He didn't recognize this virus before, never seeing him visit The Vortex.

"What do you mean?" Skulker leaned toward him. "I watched him fall into the under level. No one escapes from there."

The virus turned his head away from his screens to stare at Skulker. "Apparently, Phantom isn't just any program then."

Skulker snorted. "I could have told you that." He laughed as he glanced at Ember, who only rolled her eyes at him. "But even if he's no normal program, there's no way he could break out of the under level. Once you're in there, you don't come out. Ever."

"I believe you're wrong on that account." The virus touched one of his screens and dragged it over to place it right in front of Skulker's face. A scene played on it, and Skulker frowned as he watched the images, spotted Phantom suddenly appearing through a portal that seemed to manifest out of nowhere before disappearing again through a nearby access point. He glanced at the time stamp on the scene, searched it for any sign of tampering, but what he saw was indeed real.

"That's not possible," Skulker growled as Ember laughed, amused that even dropping Phantom into the under level proved a failure for the hunter. "It doesn't matter how different he is. There's no way Phantom could get out of the under level."

"Better luck next time, Mr. Genius Hunter." Ember waved a hand, chuckling as she walked away.

The unknown virus pulled his screen back to him, returning to his filtering of data. "So tell me some more about this Phantom program?" He slid his gaze back to Skulker as a smirk tugged at his mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe they didn't kill you," Tucker said, completely in awe, and Danny rolled his eyes at his friend, despite that Tucker couldn't see it over the phone.

"It wasn't all that bad," Danny replied with a shrug, though his attention was on something else at the moment.

His computer was on in front of him, a document brought up for him to start writing out a report for class, which he really should be working on since he only had about two paragraphs of the five pages that he needed to have for tomorrow. It would probably take him the rest of the night to get it finished, along with his remaining calculus problems, but that wasn't unusual for him so he wasn't all that concerned about rushing to finish it at the moment.

"I mean, yeah, Dash is a bossy jerk." Danny sighed at that, thinking back on strange that was, as he flicked one of the random windows away. Ever since he left the NetZone and noticed that flash of green light, he started playing around with opening up random windows. Greenish screens appeared around him, and he had fun poking around at them, spinning around in his chair to check the random feeds running through the screens. He never realized he could something like that. At least, he never thought he could do it when he wasn't in his digital form or when he wasn't in the NetZone. He never even bothered to try accessing digital screens like this when he was completely normal. A grin slipped onto his face as he tapped the air in front him, opening up another random screen. He really needed to figure out control over this, how to bring up exactly what he wanted instead of sifting through various random screens. Maybe he just needed to focus on what exactly he wanted, but at the moment, his mind was scattered with thoughts.

"Shocking," Tucker muttered sarcastically, and probably rolled his eyes. "When isn't he a complete jerk? He acts like he's the king of Casper High just because he can throw around a stupid football."

"What more do you expect from the star football player?" Danny laughed, though Dash wasn't being as big a jerk as usual lately, but his laugh was cut short when he blinked at the newest screen. He grabbed hold of its sides and drew the screen closer to him. Was that? He pressed forefinger and thumb to the center of the screen then pushed them outward. The image expanded, zooming in on the image of a bedroom. He recognized it immediately after spending the afternoon there to discuss play ideas for their theater class project. It was Dash's bedroom!

"So he gets to get away with everything?" Tucker scoffed grumpily. "That's totally not fair. We've been harassed by him for four years! And he doesn't get any punishment for pushing around the losers."

"Uh huh," Danny mumbled distractedly. "Hey, can I talk to you later? Uh, homework. Lots of homework."

"Oh, sure," Tucker replied in disappointment. "I should probably get my homework done too. Catch you at school!"

"Yup. Bye." Danny hung up the phone before turning his attention back to the screen showing Dash's bedroom.

He never even realized that he could access the webcams on other people's computers like this. A laugh bubbled out of him as he glanced around the bedroom. Three years after the accident, and he was still learning new tricks that his digital being could do. Danny amused himself with peeking into Dash's bedroom, spying on the jock when he thought he was alone. He didn't know exactly what he was expecting to find. Maybe Dash doing something predictable like lifting weights or exercising. Maybe the blond jock would being watching some stupid sports show or plotting out some new means of bullying the less popular.

But Dash sat at his desk, leaning on his left arm with his right leg drawn up to his chest, foot resting on the seat of his chair. His head was bowed with a look of deep concentration on his face. Curiously, Danny turned the screen downward, trying to see what had the jock's attention. He was actually surprised when the angle of the camera changed, showing more of the desk. Dash's hand moved, scratching his pencil over a paper. Danny frowned at the thought that the jock was probably sketching out some torture device to make his favorite punching bag miserable, and maybe that was the cause for the lack of recent bullying: Dash had a big plan in mind but it was finished yet. Blue eyes blinked in surprise when he caught of a glimpse of what Dash was actually working on. His mouth hung open as Dash sketched out the familiar form of Phantom.

"Wow," Danny breathed out, impressed with Dash's skills. He saw the posters of Phantom all over Dash's bedroom when he was there to talk about the play for class, but he didn't see anything that indicated Dash was such a good artist. He watched the jock, zooming in for a closer look at his work. Another wave of surprise hit him when he realized Dash wasn't simply drawing out his hero Phantom. Dash was drawing an actual comic! Danny could see the lines indicating other panels for the page. There was a faint sketch of what Danny thought might be Skulker, a common virus that he fought against to protect the NetZone.

Danny slumped back in his chair, staring at the screen in amazement. The thought that Dash could be such an amazing artist never even occurred to him. All he saw when he looked at Dash was a jock, a jerk, and a bully. He guessed it was true that everyone made snap judgments about each other. Even he was guilty of it.

Dash lifted his head, and Danny turned the screen to find out what distracted the jock's attention. The door opened, and small girl bounded into the room with a beaming smile on her face. She had blonde hair like Dash and the same shade of dark blue eyes. Her hair reached to her waist and was drawn back into twin tails that were tied off with baby blue ribbons. Dash placed his pencil behind one ear before he stretched out his arms for her to jump into, drawing her into a tight hug.

"Wait," Danny mumbled in confusion as he tilted his head at the scene. "Does Dash have a sister?"

He scratched his head over that. The girl looked to be about twelve, not yet in high school, which would explain why Danny never saw her. Outside of Dash's bedroom, Danny didn't do a whole lot of looking around at the jock's house. He didn't remember seeing any pictures of Dash and the girl in the bedroom though, but maybe Dash simply didn't keep them out for visitors to see. When he turned his attention back to the screen, he found that Dash and his sister were no longer in the bedroom.

"I wonder," Danny said thoughtfully as he closed all the random screens around him. "Can I do that with anyone's webcam?" He was thinking of Dash at the moment when he opened the screen. If he thought about someone else, could he open another screen showing their room? A grin spread over his face as he decided it was worth a try.

After pondering for a moment, Danny focused his thoughts on Tucker before he tapped the air before him. He laughed excitedly when the screen that popped open showing the familiar bedroom of his best friend. For a moment, he glanced around, disappointed when he didn't see the techno geek anywhere around his bedroom. Then suddenly, Tucker leapt into the view of the webcam. His green eyes were clamped shut behind his glasses as Tucker held a brush close to his mouth like a microphone. His mouth opened and closed as he danced around the room.

"Oh, Tuck!" Danny laughed, nearly falling out of his chair at the sight of his friend singing. "I'm so glad these things don't have sound." For as long as Danny knew him, Tucker was never a very good singer. His voice was pitchy and made everyone nearby clap their hands over their ears to block out his voice.

Still chuckling, Danny closed out of that screen. He stroked a hand over his chin as he debated who to try next. This skill could prove to be rather useful, and he wondered if there was a way he could open a chat with people by opening the screens. It could come in handy if he was without a phone or computer and needed to contact someone in a hurry. But that would only work if he could figure out how to make it a two way thing and how to give the screens sound, though he was still thankful that he couldn't hear anything when he peeked into Tucker's bedroom. That would have given him hours of teasing if his friends knew anything about the accident. He still wasn't sure if he should tell them anything about it. They would probably accept him, but he didn't want to put them in any danger.

Danny thought of Sam as he opened the next screen. It popped up immediately, showing him the dark room with canopy bed that was draped in black fabric. The dim lighting from the candles around the room contributed to the gloomy atmosphere. Sam sat on her bed with various textbooks around her as she busily worked on her homework, something Danny realized that he should be doing at that moment.

"Hm, but how to add sound?" Danny wondered out loud, but he doubted there would be much to hear from Sam unless she was mumbling as she wrote stuff down in her notebook. Leaning back in his chair, Danny stared up at the ceiling. He should probably get back to that report he needed to write that he still only had two paragraphs written for, but the idea of opening a screen to another random person's room for fun entertained his thoughts.

One more attempt wouldn't delay his homework too much, he decided as he lowered his gaze away from the ceiling. Closing the screen to Sam's room, where not much of anything interesting was happening, Danny thought about whom else he could spy on. There were plenty of students to choose from in his class. Crossing his legs under him and folding his arms, he pondered hard on which his classmates to pick.

Kwan's name was the first to stand out in his mind. Danny blinked at that, not sure why he would think of Kwan except that they spent most of the afternoon together at Dash's house for working on the play for their class project. With that name in mind, Danny focused his mind on sound as well when he tapped at the air before him. Maybe that was the key. If he focused on the thought of sound like he did with whose webcam he accessed, then maybe he could pick up on what the people were saying. It was worth a shot anyway.

The screen popped up, and Danny blinked at the neat and tidy bedroom that appeared before him. Grabbing hold of the screen, he maneuvered it around to better look at the bedroom. He was surprised that Kwan kept his room so orderly, thinking the jocks at school were probably slobs at home. His bed was perfectly made with dark navy blue sheets. Every book was perfectly lined up on his bookshelves. Danny blinked at that, zooming in to better read the titles of various books on engineering and technology. Turning around the room again, he realized there was a lot of tech stuff that would make even Tucker jealous if he saw all of it.

"This has to be the wrong room," Danny mumbled, finding it difficult to believe that Kwan's room would be filled with techno geek stuff. But he couldn't understand how he could get it wrong when he managed to get it right for Tucker and Sam. Was it because he distracted his mind by trying to think of adding sound to the image on the screen?

As he puzzled over that, the door to the bedroom opened. Danny's blue eyes grew wider as he watched the Asian jock walk into his bedroom. This really was Kwan's bedroom? Danny was as baffled about that fact as he was about Dash being such a good artist and having a sister.

Kwan looked exhausted as he sat down at his desk. It was the first Danny could recall not seeing a beaming smile on the jock's face. Kwan tended to be the unusually happiest jock at Casper High. He participated in bullying here and there, but he never seemed to really be in it, like he was only going along with it because it was expected of him, because the other jocks might turn against him if he didn't join in when picking on some loser. Having Kwan in the group made Danny feel a little relieved because the jock usually could get through to his bone headed teammate. Dash could be an aggressive jerk, but somehow Kwan could talk him out of beating up on someone. Danny didn't quite know how that worked, but he was thankful whenever Kwan stopped Dash from trying to stuff him in a locker, or worse, over the past years.

His thoughts were interrupted when movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The door to the bedroom flew open, slamming into the wall. When he didn't hear anything, Danny frowned, realizing that simply focusing on sound didn't work after all.

Kwan turned in his desk, but Danny didn't miss that flicker of terror that passed through the aqua green eyes. Behind the jock stood a tall man with dark hair slicked back and not a strand out of place. There was a clear resemblance between the two men, obviously father and son. Kwan was out of his chair in a flash, walking past his father, but Mr. Long grabbed his son by the arm, yanking him back. Rage was on the man's face as he yelled at Kwan, who flinched as he looked away.

"What? No," Danny gasped as he watched the interaction between the two men. He pushed away from the screen, his chair rolling back over the wooden floorboards of his room. He couldn't wrap his mind around what he was seeing.

Kwan was the happy jock. Kwan was the nice one. Kwan was always smiling. Danny shook his head in disbelief when Mr. Long grabbed Kwan and suddenly slammed up against the wall, screaming something at his son. Scrambling forward, Danny quickly closed the screen. The image might have vanished from in front of him, but it didn't erase what he saw. His brain felt like a scrambled mess, wondering what exactly took place inside Kwan's house. Was it only yelling that Kwan suffered or did his father take it further than that? Danny didn't think he wanted to know the answer.

Drawing himself over to his desk, Danny buried his head in his arms. What was he thinking messing around with that kind of ability? What right did he have peeking into people's bedrooms like that? He only thought he would have a little fun, but it was an invasion of privacy. It was wrong! His powers were meant for fighting the viruses and protecting the NetZone of Amity Park. They weren't for spying on his classmates. He felt like a terrible person. Now he knew something about someone that he probably should never have learned.


	6. Chapter 6

When they returned to headquarters, they were immediately directed to a special quarantined room where the virus wouldn't be able to hop from the laptop they confiscated from that overweight teacher and infect their private computer system. They couldn't afford to let a dangerous virus loose in the NetZone. Thankfully, they managed to track down its location to the teacher's laptop and collect it before teacher and student could do anything stupid. His fist clenched at his side as he recalled meeting eyes with the young man seated before the laptop, wondering what silliness the boy was getting into now.

"Problem, Agent J?" asked his fair skinned partner as he placed the laptop on the table in the center of the room, none too gently as it banged upon the metal surface. It was clear that he didn't care about returning the confiscated property to its owner in one piece. There was a good chance that they would have to take the laptop apart in the end as they uncovered the virus, but Agent J couldn't see it as necessary to damage the laptop in the process.

"Nothing, Agent E," he answered with a shake of his head. "Let's see what mess those civilians left for us." He really hoped they didn't do something stupid like try to eliminate the virus by themselves. Viruses had evolved into highly dangerous threats since the early days of the NetZone. Agent J recalled having to review the history and development of viruses when he first began working for the Guys in White. It was a long, dull report that took him many sleepless nights reading over, despite his already extensive knowledge on the topic. Everyone that was recruited to join the Guys in White had to know at least something about viruses and how to combat them.

"Civilians," Agent E said with a sneer on his face as he dragged over a cart with a tray of tools to use in dismantling the laptop, and a few weapons in case the virus decided to make the hop from the laptop into the real world. Not all viruses were capable of that new tactic of causing chaos and destruction to the real world, but if this viruses was strong enough, they could have a serious fight on their hands. That was the whole reason for the quarantined room. There was no access point to the NetZone here for the virus enter, no means of corrupting their own computers. The room was sealed, cut off from the NetZone. Should the virus appear in the real world, its only means of escape would be reentering the laptop, but it would not be able to flee beyond this room.

"I think we can put that off until later." Agent J took a seat at the table, the only chair provided in the room, as he lifted the top of the laptop. The screen remained a mess of scrambled data that made him frown as he looked over what the two men were working on before he and his partner burst into the room. "It looks like they were trying to discover the origin of the virus," he murmured as he reviewed the data, typing in a few commands to better examine their work.

Agent E snorted as he lifted one of their latest inventions from the lower tray on the cart. "Discover the origin?" he repeated in question as he held up the weapon, a long, single barrel rifle looking thing, taking aim at the wall across from him. "It originated from the high school."

Agent J took his gaze away from the laptop screen to stare blandly at his partner. Those thick, bushy black eyebrows over the dark shades he wore were a maddening sight to see day in and day out. The eyebrows crept to the center of his brow, almost connecting the two separate parts in a single unibrow. Sometimes when they were on watch and Agent E fell asleep on the job, Agent J had the overwhelming urge to take a pair of tweezers to those brows and, at the very least, pluck them to the point of being able to identify them as two distinct eyebrows. But he preferred not having a gun jammed between his own eyes when his partner jerked out of his sleep upon the first hair plucked.

"Not according to the information they managed to pull up on the virus." Agent J turned back to the laptop, sifting through what he could on it. A lot of the data saved on the laptop was corrupted beyond hope. He was rather impressed that teacher and student were able to track the virus to the point of realizing that it actually came from outside the high school, despite what its developer wanted people to think. His head shook as he wondered how the pair of men could even manage to figure that out.

"We can work on figuring out the origin later." Agent E pushed his partner out of the chair as he took over the job of scanning through the laptop. The weapon landed on the table with a loud clang of metal on metal. His fingers moved over the keyboard of the laptop in a clumsy manner that made Agent J cringe. Even his brother was better at the computer stuff than his partner. "Oh, ugh!" Agent E complained, shoving the laptop so hard away from him that it nearly skidded right off the table.

Agent J quickly acted to catch it, snapping his eyes toward his partner and glaring behind his shades.

"Guess those old football reflexes still come in handy," Agent E said as he smirked, leaning on the table.

"You should be more careful," Agent J grumbled and placed the laptop nicely back on the table. When he glanced over the screen, he frowned at what he found. "You're not going to find the virus scanning through private photos."

"No reaction at all?" Agent E questioned as he lifted his bushy brows in surprise. "I wouldn't have imagined you to be in to that kind of thing." Despite the shades hiding his eyes, his disgust was clear on the rest of his face.

"I did have a girlfriend, you know." Agent J glared briefly at his partner before turning his gaze back to the laptop. He closed out of the folder of photographs of the, normally bald, teacher in a dress and a frizzy, curly wig and makeup painted upon his face. "I've seen it before anyway. It's a thing he does to inspire his students to work harder in class."

"I'm pretty sure I don't want to know anything more about that." Agent E pulled a face as a shudder ran through him, and Agent J knew the feeling after he first realize the teacher dressed in drag and claimed it to be his sister to his students. Strangely, he doubted many, if any other, students actually realized the truth behind the photos. Agent E folded his arms on the table as he leaned forward. "I almost forgot about her. What was her name? Meredith? Harriet? Crystal?"

"It was Bianca," Agent J answered stiffly as he focused his attention onto the laptop, seeking out the virus lurking within it.

"Right." Agent E nodded with a grin. "Bianca. She was hot. How come you don't talk about her anymore? As I recall, you two were quite the hot item last month."

Lifting his gaze, Agent J gave his partner a sour look. "We broke up, and she kicked me out of the apartment." He frowned bitterly at the memory of their fight. A month ago, everything was perfect between them. They were happy together. They got along together when they moved into the same apartment. Until last night when he came home early from work and discovered her making out on the couch with their neighbor, and she somehow tried to spin the fight so that he ended up looking like the bag guy in that scenario.

"Sorry," Agent E said, though he didn't sound all that sorry about it. "I could have told you she was way out of your league though. Need a place to stay until you find another apartment?"

Agent J shook his head. "I'll be moving my stuff back into my parents' house." Living with Agent E, even for a short time, didn't sound very appealing to him, even if they were all expected to be immaculate in their living conditions, part of their training to avoid any contamination. "I've already got my stuff packed up. I'll be bringing it all over tonight."

"Living with your parents, sounds kind of lame." Agent E got to his feet, pressing his hands to the tabletop as he leaned forward to get a look at the computer screen. "Found our virus yet?"

Agent J glared over the top of his shades, brown eyes narrowing at the fair skinned man. "Nothing yet," he answered as he dropped his gaze again. Wrinkles appeared over his brow as the corners of his mouth tugged downward.

"Uh oh. I know that look." Standing up straight, Agent E folded his arms, creasing his nicely pressed white suit with the action. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

His fingers flew quickly over the keyboard, running through everything he could think of as he examined the laptop. After several moments, Agent J lifted his head with a disturbed expression. "It's not there."

"This isn't the time to be joking, Agent J," Agent E said firmly as he snatched the laptop, twisting it around to face him. "What do you mean it's not there?"

"I mean," Agent J tried to keep the growl out of his voice, but watching his partner check over his work like he was incapable of doing anything correctly was a little more than beyond irritating to him, "that the virus is not in this laptop."

"But we tracked it to this laptop!" Agent E complained, jamming his fingers down hard on the buttons as he typed. "This computer was infected with the virus. It's the only piece of tech that showed up on our scanners as having the virus. How can it not be here? We had the laptop locked up tight, cut off from the NetZone, the whole way here until we arrived in this room. There's no way that it could have jumped from the laptop at any point after we confiscated it."

Agent J watched with distaste as his partner's anger seemed to increase with each word he spoke, with each pounding keystroke. A thought worked its way through his head, trying to puzzle out what happened, how they could have failed to contain the virus, how the virus managed to deceive and elude them. From what he saw on the computer, from the work shown of the teacher and student's attempts to uncover the truth of the virus' origins, they were looking for a rather sophisticated piece of vile coding.

"Perhaps it was never in the laptop," Agent J offered tentatively. He held his ground when his partner snapped his head upward, green eyes narrowing without a doubt at him. "It might have made it look like it was attacking the laptop, or maybe it was there up until our arrival," he continued before Agent E could demand an explanation from him. "If it can hide its true origin and make people believe that it came from the high school until someone dives deeper into its coding, then it's not illogical to believe that it could leave some sort of false imagery behind and leave us thinking that we've caught it while it scurried away to hide somewhere else in the high school. By now, we've wasted a lot of time returning here and examining the laptop. Chances are, the virus is long gone now."

Agent J flinched when his partner suddenly threw the laptop against the wall, which then fell to the ground in a shattered, sparking mess. It looked like Mr. Lancer wouldn't be getting his laptop back in one piece after all.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny dropped into his seat at the kitchen table the next morning with an exhausted sigh. He was up for most of the night trying to finish all of his homework. The report took a lot longer than he expected, and the calculus problems were still making his head spin. Somehow, he managed to get it all done and still get a few hours of sleep. But a few hours wasn't enough to erase the drained feeling he had. He struggled to pull himself out of bed, weighed down not only from tiredness but from the miserable memory of what he saw when he spied on Kwan's bedroom. He dropped his head into his hands, wondering how he was going to act around Kwan in class now.

"What's the matter, Danny boy?" Jack asked, far too chipper for the early morning as he landed a large hand on his son's back.

At the noise of something clunking on the tabletop, Danny lifted his head from his hands. His bright blue eyes landed on the gun like item that his father placed on the table. It had that strange futuristic look that most of his parents' inventions had in comparison to some of the things their competitors created. A government agency existed to combat the threat of viruses on the NetZone, and Danny encountered the Guys in White more times than he cared to count. But they still seemed far behind in their inventions compared to his parents.

"What's that?" Danny asked, eying the weapon warily.

"This," Jack said with immense pride in his voice as he picked up the gun, "is our latest invention. The Fenton Data Deleter." He held the gun out, aiming it far too closely in his son's direction. "One pull of the trigger, and," he clucked with his tongue, pretending like he pulled the trigger, "goodbye virus. Not even a nanobyte of data will remain."

Danny sat as still as possible, trying not to let on to his terror in that moment. He tried to keep his heart from racing, to stop his eyes from widening even a fraction, praying neither of his parents noticed the tight grip his hands had on the sides of his chair, knuckles whitening as the joints started to ache. His parents made a number of inventions that failed to work, or in many of those cases simply didn't work the way they expected. Danny frequently got tangled up with their inventions too many times in the past years, often leading to him being placed in rather dangerous situations. He had a growing list in his head of which inventions to avoid. The Data Deleter sounded like one that would go straight to the top of that list. Having it pointed in his general direction made him uncomfortable, even if it wasn't proven to work yet.

"It's still only a prototype," Maddie said as she set a bowl of hot, mushy oatmeal with blueberries mixed into it in front of Danny.

"And once we get our hands on that rogue virus Phantom, we'll have our first test subject for this baby." Grin stretching wide across his face, Jack patted the Data Deleter. He, thankfully, missed his son nearly choking on a mouthful of oatmeal.

"Jack dear," Maddie said as she took the weapon from her husband's hands. "If we manage to get our hands on that nuisance, our first objective will be to analyze his data. If we can trace him back to where he was created, we can discover who created him and put them out of business from creating more viruses like him."

Danny swallowed his oatmeal, which went down his throat like a thick wad of sludge trying to squeeze though an infinitely too small pathway. That was the way of things with his parents: catch the virus, study it to death, and destroy it. They may not have a very high success rate, but that didn't stop the thought of being captured from sending chills through Danny. He went down into his parents laboratory countless times in the past. He knew what sort of things awaited any virus that his parents caught, and he hoped he would never be one of those viruses.

"But isn't Phantom the good guy?" Danny asked tentatively and regretted it immediately when his parents gaped at him like he announced that he wanted to drop out of high school and become a mime or something equally ridiculous. "I just - I've only caught a few of the clips from the news, but it always looked like he was trying to help. You know, like he was fighting off the viruses. Doesn't that mean he's good?"

"Oh, Danny." Maddie sighed as she brushed her fingers through his raven locks.

"He's a virus," Jack stated firmly. "Viruses are never good. Viruses exist to cause ruin to the NetZone. They seek to steal information and corrupt innocent programs. If a virus isn't dealt with, it affects those in the real world. Now that they've discovered a way to break out of the NetZone and attack in the real world, they're even more dangerous. They're malicious programming, and they _and_ the people that created them must be stopped."

Danny cringed inwardly with every word his father spoke. He knew that was how his parents saw him, the other him. Phantom was just another virus that needed to be erased from the NetZone in their eyes. No matter how much good he did, how many viruses he fought to protect the NetZone, he would never be anything but a virus. That knowledge only made him feel even more miserable.

"I should probably head to school," Danny announced, pushing away what remained of his breakfast. He didn't have the appetite to eat anymore of the oatmeal. Before he could make it out of the kitchen, his mother pulled him into a tight hug.

"We just want you to know we're so proud of you," Maddie said, kissing him on the forehead, which Danny then wiped at in embarrassment, thanking any deity that was listening that she didn't do that in public. Dash would certainly use it as fuel for bullying him, or Danny thought he would. Maybe. It was hard to tell with Dash not being as much of a bully recently. "We were so worried about your grades, but you seem to have turned things around this past year."

Danny rolled his eyes at her. The only reason his grades suffered so much at the beginning of high school was because of the viruses. He could have easily ignored them, let them run amok and cause chaos to the NetZone, but he had these powers for a reason, and he believed that reason was to protect the NetZone. That first year especially was rough, learning how to use his powers, developing new abilities. Getting his ass kicked every week wasn't exactly fun. The next years were a little easier as he figured out how to manage his time better so that he could fight viruses and still be able to get his homework done without completely neglecting his friends. But it wasn't until this year that his grades actually started to improve.

"Sorry I can't be more like Jazz," Danny mumbled, looking away from his mother as he shoved his hands into his pockets. It was a sore point that always dug into him like a painful barb. His family was made up of geniuses, even though his father sometimes came off looking like an idiot when his enthusiasm got the better of him. Jack always thought outside the box, came up with crazy inventions, but Maddie always found a way to refine the idea into something that made sense. Danny was the dud of the family. He didn't share their genius. He was average, in terms of intelligence. When people looked at their family, they always had that look of pity, like they were sorry that someone like Danny wound up in the Fenton family, like it was completely baffling how he could be the son of Jack and Maddie.

"Danny," Maddie took his face in his hands, forcing his head back around to meet with her violet eyes, "we don't expect you to be like Jazz." Her voice was very firm, like she was trying to drill her words into his head. "We never wanted you to feel like you have to push yourself to be like Jazz. You're a bright boy. We know it. We just want you to see what we see."

Danny blinked in surprise at his mother. He always felt like a great disappointment to his parents. Hearing those words from his mother, he didn't how to respond. His parents actually thought he was bright? He jerked out of his stunned thoughts when he heard a honk from outside.

"Oh, that's Sam!" Danny dashed out of the kitchen to grab his book bag waiting at the bottom of the stairs. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad!" He heard his parents respond with "bye" and "have a good day" as he left the house. After shutting the front door, Danny jogged down the walkway and hopped into the waiting black convertible. He grinned as he greeted his friends sitting in the front seats of the car.

Sam was the only one of them that was able to afford a car, and the convertible actually sat in her parents' garage for the seven years leading up to her sixteenth birthday. Tucker almost had enough to be able to afford a used car, being only about three thousand dollars short, which he was trying to make up by taking on whatever odd jobs he could around town. If he had more time, Danny would join him, hoping to earn up enough for a car as well. Currently, it didn't seem likely that Danny would ever get a car unless he somehow won the lottery.

"Did you get that history report finished last night?" Tucker asked as he turned around in the passenger's seat to face Danny. "I was up all night trying to get it finished."

"That's why I told you both not to wait until the last minute," Sam said with exasperation in her voice as she pulled her car away from the curb and started driving toward the high school. "Again," she added with a glare of violet eyes in Tucker's direction.

Tucker rolled his eyes. "We're not all such good, studious students like you, Sam."

"I thought you had that whole schedule thing planned out on your precious PDA." Sam raised an eyebrow at her friend. She grew her hair out over the past four years but still kept to the same general hairstyle, pulling her hair back into a half ponytail. The Goth attire never changed, which they all knew was a source of annoyance to her parents, who always hoped she would grow out of the phase.

"It didn't quite work out," Tucker said, his green eyes looking away as he frowned. Danny almost wanted to ask if Tucker had a lovers spat with his PDA, but he thought against it when it occurred to him that he might have something thrown at him for the teasing inquiry. Everyone in school was aware of how big a techno geek Tucker was, and many of the bullies in the school used that fact to tease him. It didn't help that he was always carrying around tons of various technologies from his PDA to his iPod to his laptop.

"I tried to get it done sooner," Danny said, raking a hand through his raven locks. "But I got swamped with everything, and it kind of got shuffled off to the last minute." He really did try to get it done after the assignment was given to them, but then a virus attacked and he had other homework due before the report. He almost forgot that he even had to write the history report until he checked his calendar and saw it written there in big bold red letters. Freshmen year, he didn't even bother keeping a calendar to make notes of when assignments were due, and it caused him to forget what he needed to get done and when. He rubbed tiredly at his face when he thought back to that first year.

Sam parked her car in her usual spot at school, which happened to be right beside the cherry red sports car that belonged to none other than Casper High's football hero Dash Baxter. Danny was about to sink down in the back seat until he realized that the car's owner wasn't actually present. Sighing in relief, he followed his friends out of the car.

"Didn't become best buddies after yesterday?" Sam questioned, nudging Danny in the ribs as they walked toward the entrance of the school.

"He didn't try to shove my head in a toilet at least. Did you know-" Danny caught himself before he finished the question. Simply because he found out something that didn't mean he needed to spread it around. He thought quickly for something else to ask because Tucker and Sam were looking at him expectantly. "That Dash has this dinky little Chihuahua? It's named Pooky." He caught sight of the yappy little dog when he was leaving Dash's house. There was another dog, a big golden retriever as well, but the image of Dash walking around with the Chihuahua in his sports bag like one of those crazy celebrities that always carried their dogs in their purses was hilarious in his mind.

"That's the only dirt you dug up on him while you were in his house?" Sam shook her head in disappointment. She probably would have uncovered loads of blackmail material if she was given five minutes to search through Dash's room.

Danny shrugged awkwardly in response because he certainly couldn't tell his friends about spying into Dash's bedroom through the webcam on his computer. That time was truly an accident, and he didn't even mean to do it, but it still made him curious about Dash's sister and his apparent comic about Phantom. Maybe Dash had it posted online somewhere. He shook that thought from his head as they walked down the hallways to their lockers.

"Hey, but at least you have an excuse to stare at Paulina," Tucker said with a wide grin. Even after four years, he still had that ridiculous crush on Paulina, despite that he had no chance of actually going on a date with her.

"With Dash there?" Sam scoffed as her expression turned foul. Whenever Paulina came up in conversation, Sam's mood immediately soured. The two women were never on the best of terms. From the very start, they were at each other's throat, ready to claw at the other's eyes. "Dash would probably do a lot worse than give him a swirly if he caught Danny staring at Paulina like some love sick puppy."

"You're just jealous that Danny doesn't look at you like that," Tucker commented offhandedly as he opened his locker, missing the flush that colored his friends' faces. Everyone teased them about it since freshmen year, and they went through an awkward phase in their sophomore year when they thought about dating, but in the end, they never did go on that date. People still referred to them as "the lovebirds."

"I don't want Danny giving me that stupid love sick look," Sam argued as she yanked open her locker.

"Hey!" Danny protested. "You don't have to say it like that." He grabbed what he needed for class from his own locker.

"It's okay, Danny. She's just in denial." Tucker chuckled until Sam punched him, hard, in the shoulder and made him stumble. His arms flailed outward as he tried to catch his balance, but it wasn't enough to stop him from slamming into the woman next to him. Books and papers spilled from her opened book bag.

"Tucker, you!" Valerie shouted, her green eyes flashing angrily.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident," Tucker said in a rush, trying to appease her.

"Hey, it's no big deal," said Kwan, who was standing with Valerie when Tucker bumped into her. He already knelt down to gather up the fallen books and papers.

Valerie snatched them from his hands, her anger not quelled in the slightest. "Kwan," she snapped as she pointed a well manicured finger at Tucker, "get him."

"But-"

"Hit," Valerie ordered, cutting off the jock's protest, "now!"

"See you guys later!" Tucker started to run down the hallway when Kwan turned toward him.

"At least I'm not getting ' _hit on_ ' by some dumb jock!" Sam called after Tucker, grinning as her friend fled in an attempt to escape the jock. She folded her arms with a smug look. "Maybe that'll teach him not to tease about our love lives."

Danny frowned as he watched Kwan disappear around the corner that Tucker turned down only moments before the jock. He doubted any of the others noticed the brief hesitation that flashed across Kwan's face, a look that said he didn't really want to follow Valerie's command. It was something that easily got overlooked, especially when he was the victim of the In crowd's harassment. But catching it now, Danny couldn't stop wondering if that hesitation had anything to do with what he saw last night between Kwan and his father. He bit down hard on his lip. It wasn't any of his business. He shouldn't have acted immaturely and spied on people. But was it right to sit back and ignore something like that if he _did_ know about it? He knew questions would be asked, they would want to know how he knew, but he couldn't simply wipe out what he saw from his memory. He didn't see any injuries on Kwan though. Maybe it wasn't as bad as his mind was making it out to be. He hoped it wasn't at least.

"Hey!" Valerie glared darkly at Sam. "Kwan _isn't_ some dumb jock."

Sam snorted as she closed her locker, then after a moment decided to be nice and closed Tucker's locker as well. "Yeah, following some spoiled brat's commands like a loyal dog makes him such a genius."

After closing his own locker, Danny grabbed hold of Sam's arm. "Come on. We're going to be late for class." He pulled her down the hallway before Sam could start to really get into it with Valerie. When Sam started arguments with the In crowd, things could get ugly, and that usually meant trouble for all three of them.


	8. Chapter 8

"You guys are such great friends," Tucker grumbled as they left the Nasty Burger. "You could have at least helped me get away from Kwan."

"He didn't actually hurt you," Sam said, rolling her violet eyes before sipping from her diet soda. "Kwan never really actually hurts people. Maybe roughs them up a bit when everyone else is around watching him. But he gave up the chase on you the moment you both were out of sight, didn't he?"

Tucker frowned, still not happy that his friends didn't step up to defend him against the jock. "Kwan sure is a strange jock." He folded his arms as he thought about that point. It wasn't the first time they all discussed the oddity that was Kwan. They all noticed it early on in freshmen year when Kwan wouldn't follow up on the chase like the other jocks would. He didn't hunt after them until he had them cornered to beat up on them. Despite that obvious strangeness, none of them really took notice of the way Kwan always hesitated before following through with an order to bully the losers and nerds of the school.

"You're lucky Dash wasn't the one around at that time," Danny pointed out, still frowning over the mystery of Kwan. He was tempted to tell his friends about the jock's dad, maybe even a little tempted to tell Tucker about all the tech stuff that he saw in Kwan's bedroom. But the questions that would follow those comments weren't ones that he wanted to answer. He still couldn't shake that guilty feeling that was eating him up inside after spying on the jock.

"Yeah, if it was Dash, you'd be tied up like a pretzel right now," Sam agreed. "We," she dropped a hand on Tucker's shoulder, "would have done something to distract him. Probably." She smiled all too sweetly at Tucker, who was not amused at the idea of being Dash's punching bag.

"Nah." Tucker shook his head. "Dash only likes beating up on Danny."

"Thanks for the reminder," Danny grumbled, shoulders slumping in depression. He didn't even know how it started. From the first day of freshmen year, Dash dubbed him his favorite loser to pick on, and it became a nearly weekly thing for the blond jock to find some excuse to torment Danny. It was still a surprise to him that Dash actually behaved civilly when Danny was at his house to discuss stuff for their theater project. But since the beginning of the year, Dash acted all weird with not harassing him all the time like he used to. Maybe Dash was finally toning down his bullying. Danny still didn't know what to make of that.

His attention strayed from his friends continued conversation about the bullies at their school. That green blinking light hadn't disappeared since he left the NetZone after meeting Clockwork. Rubbing at his eyes, he wished it would stop already. It was irritating when he caught sight of it in the corner of his eye and distracting during the middle of class.

"How come we can't bring food into your car but you can have a soda?" Tucker questioned as they arrived at her convertible.

"Because you two are pigs," Sam pointed out, "and I don't want you ruining the leather by dripping ketchup and meat juices all over my car." Her nose wrinkled in disgust, not only at the messy way her friends ate but at the thought of eating meat.

That was a source of many arguments between her and Tucker. Danny tried his best to stay out of it when they got into their debates of meat eater versus ultra recyclo-vegetarian. He hated being put in the middle, pulled by each friend to take their side of the argument when he thought the whole thing was a bit stupid, not that he would ever tell them that. He happened to like having friends, and he was almost completely certain that they would be too angry to talk to him again if he spoke his mind on that topic.

Well, maybe it would only be for a little while. Only until they both cooled off their heads and made up again.

"You feel all right, Danny?" Sam frowned worriedly at her friend.

Danny blinked as he turned back to his friends with a hand still raised and palm pressed into his right eye. "Uh, yeah," he said, dropping his hand with a shake of his head. "I guess I'm just a bit tired. You know, lots of homework to work on and all that. Stayed up late on that history report."

"You should let me manage your schedule," Tucker offered, wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders and giving Danny a shake. "I'll have everything planned out so that you get all your homework done and still get enough sleep."

"Uh, yeah," Sam said with a snort of a laugh. "Because that worked so well when you planned out your own schedule."

"Hey!" Tucker protested. "I might not be able keep to my own schedule, but I can definitely keep Danny to his."

"Thanks, but I think I've got it covered." Danny pulled the arm from around his shoulders. Not that he didn't trust Tucker to help him, but he didn't need his friend hovering over him if a virus decided to pop up and cause some chaos. "I just remembered there was something I need to take care of. My dad will get mad if I forget to do it." He hated having to lie to his friends. But how could he tell them that he needed to talk to some billionaire that he never even met before about his strange powers? He didn't think they would simply shrug that off and ignore the weirdness of it.

"Do you need a lift?" Sam questioned as she opened the driver's side door.

Danny shook his head as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "I'll just walk. You know my parents." He rolled his blue eyes. "You don't want to get caught up having to help out with my chores."

"I don't know," Tucker said, eying his friend curiously. "You at least get to poke around at some interesting stuff when you have to clean out the lab."

"Yeah," Danny agreed awkwardly as he looked away from his friends. That was the exact reason he ended up with his strange powers in the first place. If he never took a look inside that invention his parents couldn't seem to get to work, he wouldn't have his powers. He would a normal person. He wouldn't have to keep lying to his friends. He wouldn't have to suffer through a lot of the experiences he went through over the last four years. His life would be a lot more boring, but at least he would be another average person. Sam would probably be ecstatic to learn that Danny was something beyond normal, and Tucker would probably think it was awesome that his friend was some sort of superhero, but that didn't make Danny feel all that ready to reveal the truth to them.

"Have they invented anything cool lately?" Sam asked what became a standard question over their years of friendship. Whenever they all hanged out at Danny's house, his parents, mostly his father, liked to blather on about the various inventions they were working on at that moment.

Danny shrugged. "My dad showed me something this morning." He scratched the back of his head, trying to appear like he was thinking very hard on remembering what it was. The name of the invention stuck out to him, engraved into his brain with the potential harm it could do to not only viruses but himself. "I think it was something like the Fenton Data Deraser or something. It's supposed to permanently get rid of viruses. If it worked."

"I bet Phantom could really use that." Tucker grinned, nudging his friend in the ribs. Danny laughed weakly, hoping neither of his friends notice him tense up at the mention of his alter ego. "It would make taking out the viruses that much easier," Tucker continued, oblivious to his friend's reaction. Danny admitted things probably would be a lot easier if he could completely erase a virus instead of simply beating it back and waiting for the next time it tried to attack the NetZone.

"Yeah, but good luck getting it to him." Sam shook her head as she leaned back in the driver's seat. "Danny's parents would shoot first before giving any of their tech over to what they think is a virus." She sat up suddenly, wide violet eyes turning onto her friends. "Unless you stole it, Danny!"

"What?" Tucker and Danny demanded at the same time, both startled by Sam's sudden suggestion.

"Danny has complete access to his parents' equipment," Sam explained, excited about this idea. "So all you have to do is sneak into their lab, take the Data Deraser thing, and then, well, we'd have to figure a way to meet up with Phantom, but then you could give it to him."

"I suppose that could work," Tucker agreed with some uncertainty as his brow creased. "I doubt your parents would even notice it's missing with all the junk they work on. And especially if it ended up not working."

Danny shrugged, absently staring at the green light that continued blinking in the distance. He really hoped after he met with this Vlad person that the light would go away. "I guess," he responded noncommittally. He wasn't sure about the whole idea, beyond simply stealing from his parents. They seemed rather gung-ho about the Fenton Data Deleter that morning. He doubted its disappearance would go unnoticed at this point in time. The other problem was that Tucker and Sam would probably want to go with him when he gave the invention to Phantom. He couldn't see that working out in any way that didn't force him to reveal himself to them. "If it doesn't work though, there isn't much point in giving it to him."

"But he's all... virusy," Tucker said, struggling for the right word to use when referring to Phantom. Being called a virus not only by his parents but his friends as well didn't help with Danny's mood. "Maybe he would be able to figure out what your parents are doing wrong."

"It's worth a shot, at least." Sam's eyes held a certain eagerness at the idea of meeting Phantom.

Danny sighed internally as he realized practically everyone in town probably wanted to meet his alter ego, and some of them, like his parents, not because they were his fans. He almost shuddered at the thought of meeting Dash while running around as Phantom. On the one hand, at least Dash wouldn't be likely to beat him up like he would if he ran into the loser Danny Fenton. How nice that his greatest bully was one of his biggest fans, he thought sarcastically.

"I'll see if I can get it," Danny said, hesitant about going through with this plan. "But I really should jet now. I don't want my dad sentencing me to a month of grounding or something." He sighed tiredly as he waved goodbye to his friends.

Tucker climbed into the car, and they pulled out of the parking space, driving away from the Nasty Burger. Danny turned to start walking, to find some spot where he could tap into the NetZone without anyone catching sight of him. But the moment he took a step, he bumped into someone, cool liquid splashing down his front side before he stumbled back a step.

"What is wrong with you loser freaks?" Valerie shouted, shaking soda from one hand. The soda drenched her yellow tank top, and Danny jerked his gaze away to avoid being caught staring at the way the fabric clung to her body.

"It was an accident," Danny said quickly, feeling a sense of déjà vu despite that last time he wasn't the one that did something to offend the popular woman. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I'm sorry."

Valerie's green eyes flashed dangerously as she glowered at him. "One of these days, freak," she threatened in a chilly tone. She thrust the paper cup in her hand into his chest, spilling the rest of her soda over his clothes.

Danny stood there numbly as Valerie turned on her heel and stormed off through the parking lot. Life really was never going to be easy for him, he realized with a depressed sigh. If he wasn't getting beat up on by the viruses, the In crowd was tormenting him. Neither of his personas had it easy. Looking down at himself, he decided he certainly couldn't meet this Vlad person looking like a complete mess. The man was a billionaire! Why would he ever agree to meet with a sloppy teenager drenched in soda?

Danny shook his head as he headed for his home. He didn't want to tell this man about what he really was. Vlad Masters was the leading expert in virus protection, the most profitable one. Danny's parents got funded by the government, but they didn't sell their equipment for money. They didn't even hand over the blueprints for their inventions to the government. The Guys in White had nothing that compared to Vlad Masters' work anymore than his parents' inventions. For a government agency, the Guys in White were basically a laughing stock.

When he arrived at home, Danny jogged up stairs to take a quick shower. His parents were without a doubt in the basement laboratory, probably fiddling some more with the Fenton Data Deleter or some other invention. After washing all the soda off him and getting dressed in clean clothes, Danny headed into his bedroom where could enter the NetZone without worrying about anyone seeing him. He stared at the access point with a frown. He didn't want to reveal the truth about what he was to a stranger. The decision made itself for him. Danny Fenton wouldn't be meeting this man. Phantom would.

"I just hope this doesn't take forever." He had a pile of homework to get done tonight and didn't need to waste his entire evening chatting with some old geezer.

The familiar tingle of electricity surged through him as he changed to his Phantom persona before he entered the NetZone. It was quiet inside, not many viruses caring to linger near access points located where the Net Protectors lived. Even if his parents didn't have the greatest track record, the viruses didn't care to take chances. Danny rather liked that fact since he didn't have to worry about immediately being attacked whenever he entered the NetZone from his house. The only thing he had to worry about was his parents trying to catch him the moment he popped up on their scanner.

Lowering his visor, Danny brought up a map of the area, checking for the flashing light that indicated the location of Vlad Masters. The other side of town. Of course. Danny shook his head, but he could at least travel much quicker through the NetZone than in the real world, as long as no viruses decided to make an appearance to slow him down. Taking a breath, he ran through the ground level of the NetZone in the direction of Vlad Masters' location.

He spotted a few programs along the way. A dietary program that always asked if he was eating well, getting enough meat in his diet. A library program that Danny got off to a rough start with, but now whenever he had the time, they would discuss literature. A game program that appeared as a young boy in a pirate outfit that always enjoyed harassing Danny into playing with him. But when they saw he was in a hurry, they all let him pass with only a wave. It took him minutes to reach his destination, what probably would have taken him an hour in the real world by walking.

A wall barred his way, and Danny stared up at it. Firewalls like this one weren't uncommon. Many places, especially companies and anything with classified or personal information, had firewalls in place to keep out unwanted programs and viruses. When he stepped closer to the dark blue wall with vivid neon blue lines of circuitry lighting up here and there, a screen appeared before him. It wanted a password, naturally.

Danny pursed his lips in thought, trying to think of what this man might use for a password. He didn't know much about the man, nothing that could be helpful in coming up with the right password. What did he even know about the man? His name.

Password requested: ***********  
Error. Incorrect password.

Danny swore to himself as he pondered what else the man might use. The man had money. He was a billionaire.

Password requested: ***********  
Error. Incorrect password.

"Ugh, come on!" Danny groaned, tempted to kick the wall if it wouldn't automatically set off any security programs. "You can do this. Think. What else do you know about this guy?" He realized not much. The only other thing he could think of that he knew about Vlad Masters was the name of his company: Vlad Tech. He decided that it was worth a shot.

Password requested: ********  
Error. Incorrect password.  
Security program engaged.

Danny took a step back from the wall as neon blue bled to bright red. Warning lights flashed around the area, and he clapped his hands over his ears as the sirens blared. Gritting his teeth, his green eyes darted around, seeking out the security program that would most definitely be arriving to attack whatever virus or program was trying to hack through the firewall.

Something wet and sticky fell onto his head, oozing down over his shoulders. With a gulp, Danny turned around slowly, fearing what sort of security program he would be facing. His eyes followed a trail of drool dangling from the maw of a giant, vibrant green dog with its sharp fangs bared and its red eyes narrowed viciously.

"Nice, doggie," Danny tried tentatively with a weak chuckle. Growling deep in its throat, a rumbling sound that seemed to echo all around him, the dog snapped at him.


	9. Chapter 9

The Nasty Burger faded out of sight through the rear view mirror, and with it Danny. Sam frowned, pursing her mouth to one side as she tapped her finger on the steering wheel. It was clear her friend was hiding something, but she wasn't sure what. Danny looked distracted by something off in the distance, though she couldn't see anything unusual when she followed his gaze. When she thought more about it, she realized how tired Danny looked with bags under his eyes and wondered if it really was simply because he spent his nights up late with finishing off his homework. Heaving a sigh, she guessed that was a logical explanation since both her friends tended to be lazy about getting their homework done in a timely manner. Why was it so hard for them to work on their homework before the last minute?

"They really don't ease up on the homework for seniors," Tucker said as he scrolled through his PDA, presumably checking what assignments for class he needed to complete for tomorrow. "What happened to seniors getting to slack off?"

Sam rolled her violet eyes before she glanced briefly over at him. "Maybe you wouldn't feel like you had a lot of homework if you didn't put it off to play Doomed all the time."

Tucker stared at her, nearly gaping with his eyes just a touch wide behind the frames of his glasses. "Me? Playing Doomed all the time?" he asked incredulously. "You're the one that still holds the most hours played out of the three of us."

"But unlike you, I actually get my homework done on time," Sam returned with a hint of smugness in her voice. Talking about Doomed reminded her of something, and her expression fell, her brow creasing as her finger started drumming on the steering wheel yet again.

"Okay." Tucker sighed as he dragged his attention away from his PDA. "What's on your mind? And don't even try to say nothing because I know every time you start tapping the steer wheel, you're thinking really hard about something. So what is it this time?"

"Danny," Sam responded absently as her head tilted somewhat to one side. They hung out like usual, and nothing screamed of being out of the ordinary, but she still couldn't shake the idea that something was wrong after that last conversation with him when they left the Nasty Burger.

"Of course." Tucker nodded with a knowing smirk, and Sam reached over and punched him hard in the shoulder. "Hey!" With a frown, he rubbed at his arm, which would probably have a bruise now. "It's not my fault that Danny's always on your mind."

Sam snapped a glare in his direction. "I think of plenty of other things, thank you very much." She turned her gaze back to the street. "Like actually getting my homework done."

"Ugh," Tucker groaned. "Can we not talk about homework anymore? I'll be spending hours tonight getting everything done." An eyebrow lifted as he smirked. "So why were you thinking about Danny?"

Sam breathed out tiredly. "Well, you know, we used to play Doomed a lot together, but Danny hasn't played with us in months." She thought more on that and blinked. "Actually, it's been almost two years since he last signed onto Doomed."

"The fact that you know exactly how long it's been since he's played is a little scary." Tucker flinched when Sam raised a hand away from the steering wheel to slap him. He huddled close to the passenger side door, trying to keep out of reach of her hand. "So he hasn't played in two years." Tucker shrugged, hesitantly returning to an upright sitting position. "Maybe he just got bored of it. That happens sometimes, you know."

"Yeah, but I feel like there's more to it than that." Sam squinted her eyes like if she stared hard enough at the street ahead of her, then she would be able to unravel this mystery. "It's not just Doomed. I mean, we hang out with him, yeah, but there's a lot of times when he'll just disappear or make up some excuse for having to go home. Like this whole chore thing." She lifted a brow as she turned her gaze to Tucker. "He didn't always try to keep us away from his house. Remember how we'd always go down into his parents' lab and look at all their inventions."

"It's not like he was always that eager about letting us into the lab," Tucker reminded, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "We were kind of pushy about it."

Violet eyes narrowed at him. Sam knew that he actually meant she. She was the one that was always pushing to see what weird new inventions Danny's parents were working on at the moment. It was a passing interest, in the beginning at least, when she first met Danny and Tucker in grade school. They were both a little weird, not very popular but not completely bending to the norm for the sake of fitting in. They had their quirks. Tucker loved technology to the point that it was almost a little disturbing. Danny loved space and had dreams of being an astronaut, though with his grades, he didn't have much hope of getting into the space program. They didn't make a big deal about her being rich when she finally told them, and they didn't suddenly become fake friends only seeking to use her for her money the way some of the In crowd probably would have done.

Then they hit freshmen year, and shortly after, Phantom started making appearances all over town to fight the viruses that attacked. Sam's passing interest grew, and she started questioning Danny multiple times a week about his parents' inventions and the work they did to stop the viruses from attacking the NetZone. Danny, as Tucker pointed out, always seemed reluctant when it came to talking about his parents' work. He showed them the laboratory from time to time, letting them poke around at the inventions, but there was always that wary look in his blue eyes, like he feared his parents would find out or they would hurt themselves looking over the weapons.

"I can't help that," Sam grumbled as she parked her car outside her house. "I mean, we have this very unique opportunity to help in the fight against viruses. Especially with these recent outbreaks, like yesterday, when the viruses manifest an actual form outside of the NetZone." Twisting around in her seat, she grabbed her book bag from the back seat before she climbed out of her car.

"So you plan on becoming a Net Protector like Danny's parents?" Tucker gawked at her like she suddenly grew a second head as he got out of the convertible. "I didn't think that would be your kind of thing." He followed her up to the front door of her house, which was more like a manor and probably bigger than any of the houses owned by those in the In crowd.

"It has nothing to do with wanting to become some government dog like a Net Protector or even the Guys in White," Sam argued as she unlocked the front door. "It's not like either of them have done anything that actually stops the viruses. So why not take matters into our own hands?"

"You seriously want to steal from Danny's parents and start running around town fighting the viruses?" Tucker continued gawking as Sam closed the front door.

"Danny's parents come up with some," Sam bit the inside of her cheek, "interesting inventions. But who's going to put them to better use: Danny's parents or Phantom?"

Tucker squinted his green eyes as he looked her over, leaning closer. "Is this really about fighting the viruses?"

"What else would it be about?" Sam demanded, placing her hands on her hips as she glared back at him.

"Gee, I don't know." Tucker leaned back, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling before dropping his gaze back to Sam. "It's all Phantom this and Phantom that. And I thought you liked Danny." He shook his head. "You do realize that Phantom is a program, right? Even if he can manifest a physical form outside the NetZone, he's not a real person."

It was Sam's turn to roll her eyes. "I know that." She scowled at him, though she could feel a flush attempting to creep onto her cheeks at her friend's suggestion. Even if she did have thoughts of the Phantom program from time to time, she wasn't the only one. Paulina had an obvious crush on Phantom, even posting pictures of him with little hearts drawn around his face in her locker. Sam often wanted to gag at the display. "But like you said. He's a program. And you," she grinned as she folded her arms, "are a techno geek. Surely you should be able to track down his location."

Tucker opened his mouth, prepared to throw an argument back her way, when he paused to consider her comment. "I suppose that could be possible," he agreed, placing a hand to his chin as he thought about it. "It might take me some time to track him down though. It would help if he was fighting with a virus right now. Then I could find him in an instant. And once I have a lock on his unique coding, I'd have better luck keeping tabs on his activity." He blinked as he glanced at Sam. "Why didn't I ever think about that before?"

Sam refrained from answering that particular question. She didn't exactly jump to the idea that quickly either. It only occurred to her now, three years after the first appearance of Phantom, that they might be able to track him. "No better time than the present to get started." Grabbing hold of his hand, Sam dragged Tucker up the stairs to her bedroom. She grinned at the thought of her parents' reaction when they found her alone with a boy in her bedroom. They always hated when she had Tucker and Danny over and they hung out in her bedroom, with the door closed. Nothing was ever going to happen among them, she doubted anyway, but that didn't stop her parents from having panic attacks at the thought that they would walk in on Sam making out with one of her two friends.

"What happened to me needing to get my homework done in a more timely manner?" Tucker questioned as Sam closed the door to her bedroom after they entered.

"I'll help you with it later. I'll even write out notes on all the important parts you need to know for that test in Brit Lit." Sam pushed him toward her computer. "Let's see if we can find Phantom first. Maybe if we find him," she forced him to sit in the chair at her desk, "we can set up and time and place to meet so we can give him the Data Deraser thing from Danny's parents."

Tucker started typing on the keyboard as Sam grabbed her book bag to pull out her books for Brit Lit to write out the notes for her friend. "You know," he said, pausing for a moment to look at her, "if Phantom is some kind of virus, wouldn't something that could actually wipe out a virus, completely, be potentially dangerous to him?"

Sam glanced up from her book and rolled her eyes. "Do you really think he'd be dumb enough to shoot himself with it?"

"No." Tucker glowered at her. "I meant, what if one of the other viruses got a hold of it and used it against him? Or what if he's fighting with a virus and it turns the Data Deraser around on him? Do we want to put something in Phantom's hands that could potentially wipe him out permanently?"

"That's not going to happen," Sam scoffed at him. Raising her hand, she pointed her index finger downward and made a twirling motion to direct him in turning around again in the seat. "Get a lock on his location first. Then we can figure things out from there."

"We still need to get Danny to sneak into his parents' lab to get the Data Deraser first." Tucker's fingers typed feverishly at the keyboard, probably the only thing he could accomplish speedily other than wolfing down vast amounts of meat.

Sam made a face at that thought, still not understanding her friend's love of meat, but that point was irrelevant at present. Tapping her pen on the notebook resting on her knee, she frowned at the back of Tucker's head. "Isn't it weird how Danny seems so reluctant to do anything to even remotely help Phantom? I thought he would be a lot more eager about Phantom and virus hunting because of his parents."

"That might actually be the exact reason he's not interested. His parents are obsessed with this whole virus thing, and their actions have always been a source of embarrassment for Jazz and Danny. He probably wants to avoid following in their footsteps and being seen as another crazy Fenton, so he tries to stay away from the whole topic of Phantom and viruses." Tucker turned back to Sam with a strange look in his green eyes. "It was really hard for him to hear that he had no hope of joining the space program, and you know how much he dreamed of being an astronaut."

Sam frowned as she lowered her gaze. "Yeah, he was pretty crushed." She could still recall when he walked out of the office at school after being told that his grades weren't good enough to get into the space program. Even if he managed to pick them up by graduation, it still probably wouldn't be enough for him to get accepted.

"What do you do when the dream you've had since you were little is taken away from you?" Tucker turned back to the computer.

"It's not like we all have the answer to what career we want in the future," Sam argued, but she wished there was a way that they could help Danny reach his dream. "I'm sure he'll find some new dream to follow. Just because one door closes that doesn't mean another won't open for him."

"I get that, Sam, but it doesn't make it hurt him any less. I don't think trying to push him toward fighting viruses is a good idea though." Tucker sighed as his hands fell away from the keyboard. "If he ever does decide to follow in his parents' footsteps, he'll have to come to that on his own." Getting up from the desk, he walked over to join Sam on the bed. "No luck. I can't find anything that indicates Phantom is in the NetZone or actively fighting a virus at the moment."

Sam picked up one of the textbooks on the bed and held it out to him, ignoring his groan. "Time for homework then."


	10. Chapter 10

Danny leaped away before the monstrous dog's teeth could catch hold of him. Skidding back toward the wall, he landed in a crouch as his glowing green eyes gazed up to meet the frightening glare of the beast. He gulped, never having encountered a security program like this one. The security programs that he ran into in the past usually looked like policemen with visors over their faces and shields before them like the ones that worked crowd control during a riot.

"Of course he would have some freakish program," Danny grumbled, dodging to the side as the dog lunged at him, ferocious fangs bared and drool flying from its mouth. He rolled back on his feet, remaining in a low crouch. "Hey, I'm not a virus!"

The security program, however, didn't seem to believe that protest. Danny raised a feeble shield as the dog tried yet again to make him a chew toy. He preferred not having to attack security programs when they were simply doing their jobs, and he doubted this Vlad Masters person would be happy with him if he destroyed the dog. The man would probably be less likely to help him, like Clockwork apparently wanted, if Danny fought off his security program. But he didn't want to get eaten by the dog! He knew his body could heal itself since he suffered numerous injuries over the years. Getting chewed in half by a dog, however, he wasn't all that certain he could recover from that.

The shield shattered under the pressure of the huge dog's attacks. Acting on instinct, Danny fired off a number of energy balls from his hands. His aim wasn't all that great when he first got his powers freshmen year, but through all the battles he fought, he got much better at being able to hit his targets. And this security program was a very large target and close enough that it would be hard to miss it. His attacks struck the dog right between its angry red eyes. Backing up several steps, the dog shook its head, growling its displeasure at being struck with the energy balls. Danny swallowed thickly, drops of sweat prickling upon his brow. Perhaps angering the beast wasn't the wisest decision he could make at that moment.

The dog growled, rearing its head forward as it prepared to attack again. Its paws hit the ground with loud whumps as it charged forward. Danny raised his hands, firing at the security program in hopes to make it back off him. The green energy slammed into a pink translucent hexagon that appeared between Danny and the dog. It fizzled out in a wisp of smoke while the hexagon remained undamaged. Danny blinked in surprised before noticing more hexagons appearing, dotting randomly before him until he and the security program were walled off from each other. The dog screeched to a halt before ramming face first into the pink shield then dropped onto its hunches. Its expression changed almost immediately, the ferocity fading away as it tongue lolled out of its mouth while it panted. Its fluffy tail wagged behind it, like a dog waiting to receive praise and a treat from its owner.

"Okay. I didn't do that," Danny mumbled, completely baffled as he looked over the shield separating him from the security program. Standing up straight with his arms folded, he realized something else that startled him. The shield wasn't stopping him and the dog from fighting. He spun around to look at the dome of pink surrounding him. He was trapped!

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Phantom."

The slow drawl of a man that sounded bored and snooty came from behind him, and Danny twisted around again to face the security program. He blinked rapidly when he found not the giant monster that attacked him but a small puppy, yipping happily at the foot of another program. This one was a man that was only taller than Danny by maybe half a head. He wore his black hair in the strangest style that Danny ever saw, thinking it remained him of demon horns. The translucent red visor that he wore didn't hide the fact that his eyes were red.

"And you would be?" Danny asked offhandedly, like he didn't care much who the program was. It clearly worked for the person that he was here to see, if he could control the security program like it was his personal pet. His mouth thinned at being called infamous. That was generally a bad thing, and his mood worsened as he realized that infamous was probably more fitting than calling him famous. Most programs seemed to like him. Viruses hated him for stopping them at every turn. Some humans looked at him like some sort of hero, but his parents and a lot of the adult demographic considered him another virus that needed to be purged from the NetZone to keep it safe.

Red eyes narrowed at him, looking him over, sizing him up before the program snorted, a derisive sound. "Plasmius." He stepped up to the shield surrounding Danny as Cujo followed after him eagerly with a small yipping bark. If they weren't in the NetZone, Danny could almost believe the security program was a real dog. "Now," he folded his arms behind his back, standing up straight as his red eyes glowered down at Danny, "why exactly were you trying to break through my firewall?"

Danny clenched his jaw, pondering over how to respond to this program. His eyes slid toward the firewall, but the blinking of green light that he grew accustom to since his meeting with Clockwork was oddly absent. His brow pinched when he realized that, wondering if it vanished simply because he reached his destination.

"I need to speak with Vlad Masters," Danny answered after some internal debate. If the program belonged to that man, Danny couldn't find much reason to lie about why he was there.

His eyes narrowed a fraction, like Plasmius was trying to see through him to the truth, like he suspected a lie. "Why do you need to speak with him?"

Danny resisted the need to sigh out loud, wishing the program would stop with the third degree and simply let him meet with the man. Clockwork must have some reason to believe Vlad Masters could teach him, but Danny didn't really see how a human could help him. His mouth tugged downward as he wondered if he should mention Clockwork to this program. Having control over a program that could predict every future outcome could give anyone an enormous amount of power to make things happen in their favor. He didn't want to risk giving someone like Vlad Masters that kind of power. The man was already the richest person on the face of the planet.

"I was told he could help me," Danny answered with a bit more bite in his voice than he meant. "Look. Are you going to let me meet with this guy or not?" He didn't have the time to sit around arguing with a program. If he wasn't going to be allowed to meet with Vlad Masters, then he was better off heading back home so that he could get started on his homework. Thankfully, he didn't have to meet with Dash, Kwan, and Paulina to work on their play idea for class anymore. Now that they had a story for their play, they could practice it during class instead of after school.

"Who told you that he could help you?" Plasmius lifted an eyebrow at him. His eyes roamed over Danny's body, making him shift uncomfortably, before Plasmius snorted. "And why would he want to teach you anything?"

Danny stepped up to the shield, drawing himself up to his full height as he glared at the program. "I wasn't given a whole lot of answers. The program yanked me out of the under level and told me that this Vlad Masters guy would be a better teacher for me than he would be. He gave me the guy's location, and that's why I'm here now. So you can either show me to your user or you can tell me to get lost. Just stop wasting my time." His green narrowed, refusing to let the program think that he was in any way intimidated by his superior height or dome imprisoning him. He didn't try to break out for the simple reason that he wasn't here to fight with the man.

"You fell into the under level?" That sparked some interest in the program.

The curiosity in Plasmius' eyes made Danny frown. Most programs trembled with fear at the mention of the under level. "Yeah, and I was saved from it. I believe I already said that."

The pink shield fell, disappearing in hexagonal sections. "Clockwork must have some reason for saving you." Plasmius gave him hardly a second look as he walked toward the firewall.

Danny blinked several times before he stumbled after the program. The dog followed, yipping as it danced around his feet. "Wait. You know Clockwork?" He put himself between Plasmius and the firewall as his mouth hung open in shock.

"Not all programs are idiots like you." Plasmius placed a hand to Danny's shoulder then shoved him off to the left, ignoring any protests. The password screen appeared again when he stepped up to the firewall. With a few quick keystrokes on the translucent keyboard, a door opened in the firewall to allow them entry.

"I'm not an idiot," Danny argued, trailing after Plasmius as they passed through the firewall with the security program bounding ahead of them. "I doubt Clockwork goes around blathering about himself to just any old program he can find." The firewall closed behind them. Folding his arms, Danny glanced around the room. It was impressive. A sleeker design than what he usually saw on the NetZone. Even the area surrounding his house didn't have this kind of advanced look to it. Screens were set up all around, filling up most of the walls, and streaming an immense amount of data.

"You're quite right on that point." Plasmius sneered at him, like he hated to admit that Danny might have a brain after all. He leaned against a desk within the room as he folded his arms. "Clockwork tends to keep to his hidden tower, viewing the streams of possible futures, guiding the NetZone with subtle nudges. I've only had the opportunity to meet him a few times." His nose wrinkled with a look of mild disgust. "Though I don't understand what interest he would have in you."

Danny glowered with the sense that he was insulted. Shaking his head, he walked closer to where Plasmius stood against the desk. "Look. I'm only here to meet with that Masters guy. So just direct me to the nearest access point, and I'll pop out of your hair and let you get back to," he glanced around at all the data screens, "whatever it is you do."

"He's a very busy person." Plasmius was a rather irritating program, Danny decided. The security program hopped onto the desk, curling up near Plasmius, who reached out a hand to scratch behind the dog's ears. "He didn't become a billionaire simply from sitting around doing nothing all day. He doesn't have the time to meet with some stupid program that thinks itself some sort of hero."

"I don't-" Danny ground his teeth, tension in his shoulders as he struggled with his rising anger. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it slowly. Now was not the time for fighting. "I just want to keep the NetZone safe from harmful viruses. Surely even you can understand the need to stop the viruses from hacking through firewalls and stealing information. But apparently, Clockwork thinks this Masters guy can somehow teach me to become stronger. I don't really understand how some human can help, but if Clockwork thinks he can, I guess I have no choice but to trust him."

"Many consider you a virus." Plasmius' expression turned thoughtful as he tapped the air before him. A screen appeared, not much different from how they appeared for Danny except that Plasmius' screen was pink. He frowned curiously as he moved the screen around, focused on Danny's body in some sort of examination.

"I'm not a virus," Danny protested firmly, hands clenching at his sides. He wished there was a way to make humans, specifically his parents, understand that, but they didn't seem capable of accepting him as anything other than a virus.

"No," Plasmius agreed with a grave look as he lifted red eyes to meet Danny's gaze, "I suppose you're not." He stepped forward as the screen vanished. The dog lifted its head from its paws as it watched them curiously. When Plasmius grabbed at his chin, Danny tried to flinch away, but the program held on firmly, keeping Danny from turning his head away. "So who are you really?"

"Don't you already know?" But a chill ran through Danny at the look in Plasmius' eyes, like the program _knew_ the truth. "I'm just Phantom."

"Don't play games with me, boy." Plasmius' grip tightened ever so slightly around Danny's chin. "You're no mere program, nor are you a virus. You're something more. Your life signs show something beyond data. What's your _human_ name?"

Danny laughed weakly as fear took root inside him. How could this program possibly know that he was human? His life signs? No other program ever gave him a scan to check his data, the coding that made him up in his digital form. He swallowed thickly, and he could tell, he _knew_ , Plasmius saw the terror in him brought on by that one simple question. The grip remained firm and tight upon his chin. Plasmius wouldn't be letting him escape without him giving answers. Beyond that, Danny realized that Plasmius wouldn't buy any lies from him, that dancing around the truth would be unacceptable.

His teeth hurt from the pressure of grinding them and the hold on his face. Even simply giving his true name to this program proved to be a difficult task. Skulker knew he was no simple program, but Danny doubted that he realized the full truth behind Phantom. Clockwork knew, but he proved that he knew everything. But was it worth revealing himself to this program? He didn't even want to tell Vlad Masters who, what, he really was.

"Danny Fenton," he said, his own name lodging in his throat until he managed to push those two simple words out and reveal his identity. His brow wrinkled as he watched the shock play across the program's face, the hand quickly snapping away from his chin like he suddenly zapped Plasmius with a strong electrical surge. He blinked, not understanding that reaction.

"Oh, that foolish idiot," Plasmius muttered, hand raking through his black horned hair as he turned away from Danny.


	11. Chapter 11

He watched the other program pacing before him around the room. Confusion spun through his head, his brow pinching in the center as he tried to puzzle out the meaning of Plasmius' words. "What are you even talking about?" Danny questioned when it was clear that the program wouldn't respond without some kind of prompting. Minutes ticked by slowly since Plasmius first released his hold on Danny's chin.

Plasmius stopped in the middle of his pacing and snapped his red eyes toward Danny. "Your parents never spoke to you about Vlad Masters?"

After a quick moment to search his memories, Danny shook his head, not recalling any mention of the man from his parents. "Why? Are they supposed to know him or something?"

Plasmius snorted with a look in his eyes that Danny couldn't quite place. Anger? Frustration? Loneliness? It was all a jumbled mess, flashing behind that translucent red visor. "Of course they wouldn't speak to you about me," he muttered, his hands clenching and uncurling at his sides.

Lost summed up what he was feeling quite nicely at that moment. "Why would my parents talk to me about _you_?" He pointed a white gloved hand at the program. "My parents don't see programs as actual beings. And how would they even know this Masters guy? Can you _please_ start making sense?"

The way his eyes narrowed, that slight flaring of his nostrils, the curling sneer of his lip, all made it look like Plasmius was about to start ranting about how talking to Danny was like talking to a brick wall. With a deep breath, he stood up straight, somehow managing to calm himself enough to speak without screaming at Danny. "Perhaps that pea sized brain of yours isn't capable of grasping the obvious-"

"Hey!" Danny protested, anger crawling through his veins. He was no genius, not like his parents, not like Jazz, but he was no moron either.

"So let me spell it out of you," Plasmius continued, pretending not to hear Danny. "Your parents went to college at the University of Wisconsin where they studied the inner workings of the NetZone." His mouth twitched when he caught Danny blinking in surprised that the program knew anything about his parents. "Despite what you may think, your parents always believed there was something more to the programs and viruses running through the NetZone. Do you honestly think they would have started inventing weapons to combat viruses directly if they didn't think they could be pulled from the NetZone and given a physical form?"

"I," Danny felt stunned at Plasmius' words, "knew that." He really did. The invention he stepped into, examined to see why it didn't quite work when his parents plugged it in and tested it, was the exact reason he had his powers. That particular invention was meant to open a means for them to pull out viruses from the NetZone so that his parents could examine the viruses in a manner that no one ever considered, dissecting them as if they were living beings. His prior comment wasn't quite right. His parents did see programs and viruses as beings. They simply didn't considered them to have feelings in the same manner as humans. They could experiment on and cut up a live virus, even destroy its coding to nothing, because it wasn't human. He swallowed, feeling sick, a bile rising up in the back of his throat, as he recalled the Data Deleter and the fact that in parents' eyes, Phantom was just another virus.

From the smirk on his face, Plasmius clearly noticed Danny was realizing his error. "During their college days, your parents worked on invention for the simply purpose of-"

"Yeah, I _know_ ," Danny interrupted in a growl of annoyance. "They call it the Fenton Material Portal."

Plasmius snorted at the name. "They weren't the only ones that worked on that invention in college."

Danny jerked, his eyes growing wide as the pieces connected in his head. "Wait. You don't mean-"

"Yes," Plasmius agreed before Danny could even finish his thought. "Vlad Masters contributed to that little project. But, alas, he suffered an accident when they tested the prototype of your parents' invention. I'm sure you know quite well the effects that come with that type of accident." His mouth thinned grimly, eyes watching for Danny to realize something from that statement, to make the connection.

Danny stared at the program, and it slowly worked its way through his brain, the gears grinding until it finally hit him. Green eyes grew impossibly wide as he stumbled back a step. "No," he gasped as his gaze remained locked with Plasmius' burning red eyes. " _You're_ Vlad Masters?" He gaped at the program, hardly believing that he could possibly be the human that Clockwork sent him to meet. A small part of him realized that made some sense. Having a digital form, being able to enter and exist within the NetZone, Vlad would have unique knowledge in how to combat the viruses that attacked data on the NetZone.

"You didn't think you were the only one to suffer from your father's bumbling idiocy, did you?" A cruel smirk twisted upon Vlad's face.

"My dad isn't a bumbling idiot!" Danny shouted, resisting that urge burning through him to fire an energy blast at the man. Attacking the person that was supposed to teach him wouldn't be wise.

"Then please, do explain how you ended up the way you are." Vlad returned to leaning against the desk, smugness in his expression. "I'd love to hear it."

"How I ended up like this isn't important," Danny snapped, not wanting to prove anything to Vlad. It wasn't entirely his father's fault. Some of the blame landed on Danny, himself, for messing with the invention when he should know better. Folding his arms and shifting his weight to one foot, he frowned at Vlad. "That at least explains why Clockwork would think you'd be a better teacher. You know exactly what I'm going through."

"How long ago was the accident?"

Some of the tension left Danny at that question, now that he wasn't being antagonized by Vlad. "About three years ago now," he answered with another awkward shift of his weight. It was strange speaking about his experience with someone after holding it bottled up inside since the beginning of his freshmen year.

Vlad nodded as he absorbed that information. "And your powers? What have you learned to do so far?" He brought up his pink screen again, focusing it onto Danny's body.

Seeing the way the other man was examining him on the screen, Danny felt uncomfortable. "Energy balls," he answered with a small shrug as he turned his gaze away from Vlad. "That seems to be pretty standard for all viruses. I've been working on shields but, well," he held out a hand creating a faint hexagon of translucent green before him that faded out quickly, "it's not very strong. I can fly." He frowned, scuffing a foot on the floor. "For about a minute. And holographs." He opened a map that showed the interior of the room, venturing only a little beyond the firewall. It was easier to simply view maps through his visor, but if he wanted, he could call up a three dimensional image of his surroundings.

An eyebrow lifted as Vlad raised his gaze from the screen before him. "You've had your powers for three years, going into your fourth year now," he said slowly in a way that made Danny feel like the man thought he was stupid. "And that's all you've managed to learn? I'm surprised you've been able to do so well against the viruses with that low level of skill. Clearly the viruses aren't as big a threat as we all believed them to be if you can beat them off."

The tension rose up in him again, anger boiling through him. With his teeth clenched, he repeated in a mantra not to attack the man. "Sorry I can't be a genius like everyone else," he shouted, but Vlad didn't even flinch, instead looking rather bored by the outburst. Even if his mother said she thought he was bright, it didn't stop the sting he felt every time someone implied that he was an idiot. "It's not like I had a freaking manual on how to use these powers or all of what I could do with them. I suppose you discovered that you could open data screens even while you're human within the first five seconds after your accident. Sorry that I'm so slow!"

Surprise ghosted over Vlad's face. "You," an eyebrow lifted, bafflement playing through his expression, "believe you're still human?"

"Of course!" Danny snapped, not understanding why Vlad would even ask such a question. "I might have freaky powers, but that doesn't change that I'm still human."

Vlad exhaled tiredly, shaking his head. "Daniel, I'm afraid you're not." His voice was very calm, almost like he was reading the weather from a newspaper rather than delivering a terrible lie. "Do you honestly think it's possible to have survived that kind of shock to your body?"

"Then why do I have a human body?" Danny folded his arms, gripping his biceps hard enough to bruise them to avoid punching Vlad for even suggesting that he wasn't human.

"You aren't a coded program or virus," Vlad explained with that same irritating calmness that didn't help with Danny's mood. "You were digitized from a human body, and yes, your human side still exists. But," his voice turned firm, "you're mostly a digital being now." He continued on before Danny could wrangle up an argument against him. "I take it since you've gained these powers, you still spend most of your time in the real world. Correct?"

"Well, duh." Danny still didn't trust what Vlad was saying, even if he was a digitized human too. And apparently, for a much longer time though he didn't seem to show his age all that much. Vlad didn't look anywhere close to the same age as Danny's parents. "I have a life. My parents and friends would notice if I just suddenly disappeared to live in the NetZone. I have school to attend. I can't just give up my life to live solely in the NetZone. I'm _human_."

Disappointment was in his eyes as Vlad observed Danny. "Your life outside the NetZone, existing within the real world, is killing you, Daniel."

"What?" Danny heard a crackle of static when he shouted in rage. He couldn't believe what Vlad said. He _wouldn't_ believe it. It didn't even make sense. How could living outside the NetZone be killing him? That was crazy talk. He didn't care that Vlad was the same as he was with the ability to change into a digital being. There was no way he was going to stand there and believe something so utterly ridiculous, completely insane, totally bogus. Lies. That was all this man was spewing at him. Terrible, vicious, hurtful lies. He didn't know why the man would feel the necessity to tell him such bald faced lies, but that was the only explanation that Danny could think of, because believing Vlad spoke the truth was too unthinkable.

He bruised when punched and bled when cut. He slept when tired. He hungered with the need to eat. Everything about him remained completely human beyond his strange powers, his ability to enter the NetZone like a virus. He refused to think otherwise. His eyes narrowed darkly at Vlad, daring him to try saying that he was nothing more than a ghost of a human, that he wasn't really alive anymore. It didn't matter if this man taught him anything about using his powers or not, the next time Vlad tried to claim he wasn't human, Danny was going to punch him.

"It's the very reason you aren't getting stronger, Daniel," Vlad continued, glossing over the rage in Danny's voice and in his expression like his feelings meant nothing. "You haven't developed past the very basic of skills because you're clinging to your human life. The only reason you haven't completely failed to function while living in the real world is because your fights against the viruses continuously pull you back into the NetZone, allowing your form to regain some sense of stability. But that's not going to work forever. Eventually, your body won't be able to handle living in the real world, and you will die."

He reacted before he could even think through his actions. One moment he stood with arms folded and eyes narrowed, and in the next instance, he launched toward Vlad with a arm drawn back to throw a punch. His fist collided with a pink hexagon of translucent energy that cracked under the force of his punch. His teeth gritted at the pain rattling up his hand, aching through his bones. Vlad remained standing calmly, like Danny's attack was nothing to fear, a mere gnat to be swatted away and ignored. The security program, however, was off the desk in a flash, assuming its form of a large, growling dog with fangs bared.

"You," Danny point a finger at Vlad, his voice shaking with rage, "are one seriously crazed up fruit loop if you think I'm going to buy those lies. Clockwork, obviously, doesn't know what he's talking about if he thinks you're going to teach me anything. I'm out of here." He stormed toward the firewall, his hand aching from the punch. When he reached the firewall, it remained solid, barring his way from leaving Vlad's domain. He snapped his head around, eyes glaring furiously at the other man. "Open it." His voice was cold and harsh, tinged with rage.

"Daniel." Vlad sighed as he walked over to the firewall with his security program following closely behind him, ready to attack if Danny tried to strike at its master again. "It would be wise for you to heed my warning."

"I might not be a genius, but I'm not a gullible fool either." Danny's glare was so cold that it probably could have froze water. "I'm not swallowing that pack of lies. Now open it." He pointed at the firewall stopping him from making his dramatic exit.

"If you actually learned more about your skills," Vlad snorted as he pressed a hand to the firewall, tapping out a random pattern with his fingers, "you could learn how to hack through this sort of thing with ease. True viruses have difficulty hack firewalls and fighting off security programs. But you and I," a smirk tugged at his mouth, "we're so much more." A door opened in the firewall, allowing Danny the ability to walk free of this man's domain. A gleam in his red eyes suggested that Vlad thought his comment might make Danny stay.

"Maybe all of that was true for you," Danny growled, "but I'm still human." He stormed out of the domain and back into the regular, familiar scenery of the NetZone. Continuing on his way back toward the access point at his house, he didn't bother to throw a glance over his shoulder, knowing the firewall would seal itself up immediately after his departure. He walked, in no rush to make it back home despite the pile of homework that awaited him. His anger over Vlad's words still hummed through his veins. The programs that he passed took one look at the fury on his face and quickly cleared out of his way. When he arrived back in his room, quickly changing back to his human appearance, the rage still hadn't burned out of his system. Walking over to his desk, he dropped into his chair, praying that maybe focusing his mind on homework would help him push aside some of his anger. He never wanted to see Vlad Masters again in his life.


	12. Chapter 12

The firewall sealed itself, leaving no sign of weakness that a virus could exploit to penetrate his private domain within the NetZone, after the young program left. Vlad stared at place where the "door" opened to allow Phantom to storm out of his domain. Several silent moments passed before he twisted around with a rage filled roar as a blast of red, because he refused to acknowledge it as pink, energy burst from his hand. The security program yelped in surprise and bounded away before the energy ball could hit the desk, destroying the piece of furniture within the space. A fair sized hole tore through the desk, splintering it into two separate pieces as smoke rose from the damaged center. He could always recreate the desk later. That was one advantage to being a program on the NetZone: whatever he destroyed in a fit could easily be recoded and recreated. He constantly manipulated the surroundings of his domain to fit his needs.

He turned his gaze away from the destruction when he heard the whimper of his security program. "Sorry, Cujo," Vlad mumbled tiredly as he leaned back against the firewall. Sliding down to the floor, he balanced his elbows on his knees. He bowed his head, clasping his hands tightly behind his neck. Barely an instant passed before he felt the wet nose of the dog at his side. With a sigh, he lifted his head as he reached over to scratch behind Cujo's ears. The dog's tongue hung from its mouth, and its tag wagged excitedly.

He never would have predicted that he would be put in a situation like this one in all his life. How could he ever plan for something like this to happen? He tried his hardest to keep his old college friends out of his mind, as impossible as that was, ever since the incident twenty-four years ago that resulted in him developing this digital form that kept him a prisoner of the NetZone. For several years after the incident, he pined for Maddie's love, built an empire that made him a billionaire so that when he won her hand they could live comfortably together. He was rich and smart and successful. That should be enough for her to see him as the better man, but instead, she chose Jack over him. During their college days, Vlad never saw any hint that Maddie had any affection toward the bumbling idiot that he once considered his best, and only actual, friend in his college days. But the incident twisted his feelings into bitter rage for the other man, only fueled more by the fact that Jack stole away the woman Vlad believed himself to love.

Years of practice gave him control over his powers with this new digital form. Vlad found he could accomplish so many things with these powers. The data flowing through the NetZone could be easily manipulated when one knew how to do it properly. He was careful about it, though. He knew it wouldn't be wise to give himself away by shooting to the top in one fell swoop. Too many questions would arise if his company became number one over night. He found the weaknesses in his competitors through the data he collected, and with that information, he struck at them, bit by bit, tearing them down until his company stood supreme.

So many ambitious plans he had! With his fame and fortune, his castle in Wisconsin, he began to put his schemes into action to steal Maddie away from Jack. He had plans to destroy Jack's life, leaving the larger man to know the sting of losing everything, having his happiness ripped away from him from the man that he thought was his best friend. He received letters from them over the years, happy news from the blissful couple, even a wedding invitation came to him. But he barely skimmed through them most of the time, never considered to reply as he perfected his plans before finally putting them into action. Right when he was on the cusp of getting everything he wanted, he discovered a fatal flaw to his plan: He was dying.

With all the time he spent outside of the NetZone, Vlad couldn't survive. He weakened drastically to the point of collapsing during a board meeting. Everyone present was in a panic when his legs suddenly gave out under him and he hit the floor. They rushed him quickly to the emergency room, but the doctors were utterly baffled, lacking any idea of what caused his deteriorating state. All they could tell him when he woke in one of their rooms was that his body was failing him. It would only be a matter of days before he died if no change in his condition occurred. They were trying their best to figure out what was wrong with him, find a cure to save him, but the situation looked grim.

Thinking it likely his only choice at that point, Vlad climbed out of his hospital bed and stumbled his way to the nearest access point to hop into the NetZone. Immediately after he was inside the NetZone, he felt stronger. It took months for him to regain his power to what it was prior to his collapsing. All his planning, all his wealth, everything that he worked to accomplish suddenly meant nothing as it sank in and he understood fully what everything that happened meant. He could exist outside the NetZone under a human guise for short periods at a time when necessary, but his life would be mostly restricted to the NetZone. Even if he believed in his love for Maddie, he would never be able to be truly with her. He couldn't remain at her side for always. Not the way Jack could. That point hurt him for several years, digging the knife into his heart.

Six years. That was how long it took from his accident for him to uncover the truth about his existence. It was, as he learned later, also the same year that Jack and Maddie had their second child. Two years prior, they had their first child, a daughter named Jasmine. Vlad couldn't erase the bitterness he felt at discovering the two children his old friends had together, the loneliness that consumed him. He could watch his old friends from within the NetZone, learn about their lives from the shadows. They were so happy together, so in love with each other as they created a family. He was jealous of that. He wanted love. He wanted a family. But confined to the NetZone, or risk death, he would never be able to have those things. The only comfort he had in the NetZone was his security program that he crafted to look like a dog, a long ago memory of the Saint Bernard that his family had when he was young.

Vlad frowned as he scratched at the dog's head, currently in his friendly puppy mode. "I might have a job for you," he said quietly, tiredly. He didn't really want to give up Cujo, but the cause would be worth it. Daniel left in a fit of rage. Vlad wanted to convince the young man to stay, knowing the fate that would await him if Daniel tried to continue his life outside the NetZone. But after learning the truth of whom Phantom was, Vlad wanted him gone. He couldn't look at that young man without the pain stabbing at him.

He learned after his fateful collapsing that just shortly before his incident, Maddie gave birth to a second child, a son this time that they named Daniel. It was pointless to keep even a small thread of connection to his old friends when it only caused him misery. But he was continuously drawn to them. Jack and Maddie were, after all, the only people that he ever cared about in the world beyond his parents. He tried over the years to ignore them, but he always went back to them.

Despite locking himself away in his private domain, he wasn't ignorant of the happenings around the NetZone. He needed to be in the know, needed to learn what worked to protect against viruses so that he could create better firewalls to distribute to the masses, though at this point it really didn't feel necessary. What was the point of his wealth when he lacked any need for money? Living within the NetZone left him little need for material things. Even if he left to make a live appearance at a board meeting or a press conference, he could digitally alter his human appearance. He did it all the time to make himself appear the proper age of a man in his forties.

"Three years," he mumbled, thinking back onto what Daniel told him about the incident that caused his powers, to his taking up the identity of Phantom. That left the young man three more years before his human body started to deteriorate to the point that he wouldn't be able to live any longer in the real world. If he refused to believe Vlad's warning by that time, then Daniel would risk death for his stubbornness.

"Not my business," Vlad muttered as he stood up, making Cujo hop onto all fours with a bark. Red eyes narrowed down flatly at the dog. "Are you going to tell me you liked that young man?" At the happy bark he received in response, Vlad sighed, lifting up his visor to pinch at his nose. "That's just as well, I suppose." He brought up a screen, quickly typing out a message on the keyboard that appeared before him.

After all these years and every attempt they made to communicate with him, now Vlad was the one reaching out to them. It was a short, simple message, informing his former friends that he would be making a trip to Amity Park in the near future. He could have made an appearance there any time he wanted since his private domain was already located within the Amity Park NetZone.

In his early years after the incident, he created the space to remain close to where Maddie lived in order to quickly act upon his plans after he put them into action. When he discovered that he couldn't live in the real world any longer, he retired to this place rather than setting up a new domain closer to Wisconsin. He could oversee his company in Wisconsin perfectly fine from Amity Park, and he could travel quickly through the NetZone to Wisconsin if he needed to make an appearance in the real world.

His mouth pursed, thinning as he gazed at the words glowing upon the translucent screen. The debate raged in his head, wondering if he really wanted to open this line of communication. Contacting his old friends meant that they would want to talk with him. They would want to meet with him, which meant spending time outside the NetZone. Vlad doubted that Daniel would want anything to do with him after the way he left filled with such rage. He could understand the feeling the young man had after being told living in the real world was killing him, having experienced the anger and frustration of learning that fact himself the hard way. At the very least, Daniel had someone to offer him the warning, even if he refused to heed it.

"Ungrateful brat," Vlad spat out, nostrils flaring at the spark of anger. He could have easily turned the young man away or left him to the fate of dealing with the security program. The name Phantom was spread wide over the NetZone, song in praises of his victories over the viruses. Naturally when he spied Phantom outside his domain, Vlad couldn't ignore his curiosity to learn what reason the rogue program had for trying to break into his private space. He never imagined that it would turn out that Phantom was the son of his college friends.

Why did they have to continue that foolish research into creating a device that could force a virus to manifest a human form in the real world? Bitterness boiled through him as his eyes narrowed at the screen. They learned nothing from the accident with the prototype, but they never actually learned the cost of that folly. Now their obsession with viruses and the NetZone and trying to get a physical form of a virus in the real world to study cost them the life of their very own son. Vlad's hands clenched painfully tight. He should have stopped them all those years ago. If only he wasn't as obsessed with the NetZone and the viruses and uncovering the secrets hidden within the coding, then maybe he could have seen what fools they were. But it was only in looking back on everything that he came to see the truth.

"Well, Cujo," Vlad said as he crouched and picked up the small dog. When Vlad stood up straight, Cujo licked sloppily at the man's face, leaving a dripping trail of drool. Vlad huffed a sigh at that. "I want you to keep a watch on Daniel. He's growing weaker already, but he won't acknowledge it. He thinks the viruses have merely grown a lot stronger, which is in part true."

Phantom's appearance, his ability to move in and out of the NetZone sparked the idea within the viruses. The Materializer Portal they developed in college, and now the one that Jack and Maddie finalized, provided the viruses with the knowledge of how to jump out of the NetZone much like the rogue program that kept thwarting their efforts of stealing and corrupting data. Their attempts to find methods of destroying the viruses gave the artificial life forms of the NetZone new ideas for what they could accomplish. The users that coded programs and viruses knew so little of what their creations could really do.

Now that viruses could appear in physical forms in the real world, Vlad dreaded to think what other terrors they could think up beyond simply trashing the real world. His expression turned grim as he narrowed his eyes at the screen. If the viruses ever thought to use the humans-

A bark broke his train of thoughts, and Vlad dropped his gaze back to the green furred dog. "Back to the matter at hand then," Vlad said, patting the dog on its head. "Return to me if Daniel's condition worsens." He attached the security program to the message, hiding it well so that Jack and Maddie would never be able to notice that anything more was added to the message. His finger hesitated over the send button. Without Cujo, he would be left alone again. Heaving a sigh, he hit the button, and the screen blinked out, the message flying through the NetZone to the Fenton's house.

Silence reigned over his domain, much too quiet without the yips of the security program seeking his attention. Perhaps he would create a new one to serve in Cujo's place for the time being. If Cujo decided to stay with Daniel permanently, he would need a new program to protect his sanctum within the NetZone. Vlad cracked his knuckles before getting to work on the security program.


	13. Chapter 13

"Remind me again why this theater class was a good idea," Dash grumbled as he opened the door to his house.

"You're the one that wanted to sign up for something that would be an 'easy A' as I recall," Kwan replied with a smirk that made the blond jock want to punch him. "Hey, it's not all bad though. We get to skip two days of school when we go to perform for the first and second graders at the different elementary schools."

"Yeah, but we're stuck with Fenton." Dash led the way up the stairs his bedroom.

Kwan rolled his eyes, knowing the only reason for that comment was because of the rest of the A list. Inviting a "loser" over to his house gained Dash sneers from the rest of their crowd even after explaining it was simply for a class project. "Forget about them. Besides he had some pretty good ideas. If we got stuck with Williams, we'd probably still be arguing over a play idea."

Dash stopped at the top of the stairs and turned around to face his teammate. "You're lucky none of the rest of the team is here. You wouldn't want to let them hear you defending the loser." He reached out and flicked the other man lightly on the forehead.

"Hey!" Kwan protested, rubbing at the spot on his forehead. "I don't think forcing the idea of having one of the pigs be female _and_ that Fenton had to play that one was your smartest idea." He shook his head as the blond man snickered, amused by the idea of forcing the "loser" to dress up like a girl. There was an incident in their freshmen year during a school announcement where Fenton was seen tumbling onto the stage dressed in one of the costumes from the school play _My Fair Lady_. Even four years later, Fenton still hadn't lived down that incident of being seen in that awful dress.

"Like I'm going to pass up the chance to embarrass the loser." Dash finished climbing the stairs and led the way down the hall toward his bedroom. They both knew it was only to prove to the rest of In crowd that he hadn't gone completely soft on bullying Fenton. There were whispers among the A list about Dash's sudden lack of harassment toward the "loser."

Dash's hand barely wrapped around the doorknob when one of the other doors in the hall opened. A familiar face peeked out of the room across the hall. Dark blue eyes lit up excitedly when she spotted the two men. Her cheeks tinged lightly pink as her gaze drifted away from them. Dash rolled his eyes at that reaction before he walked over to her.

"What do you need, Tails?" Dash asked, folding his arms as the blush on the young girl's face steadily grew darker.

"I've told you not to call me that," she complained with her lower lip pushed forward. Her eyes narrowed up at him, scowling at the grin on the man's face.

"What else should I call you? When you're always wearing your hair in those pigtails." Dash grabbed hold of the twin locks of hair and wagged them about in the air.

She slapped at his hands and pushed him away from her. "Stop it, Dash!" His face became even darker, if possible, the blush extending to the tips of her ears.

"Dash, you shouldn't tease her like that," Kwan said as he opened the door to Dash's bedroom. Playing oblivious was an easy task for him, but he was well aware that Dash's little sister had a crush on him. It was cute in that little puppy love kind of way, but he didn't want to lead her on in any way. She would always be only his best friend's kid sister. Who was home schooled. Because she kept having to go into the hospital. Kwan didn't envy having a terminally ill sister to watch over. It explained a lot about why Dash lashed out in anger and frustration at school.

"Let me know if there's anything you need," Dash said with a hand resting on his sister's head. In a moment after hushed whispers, he followed Kwan into his bedroom. "You know, you could talk to her," he grumbled as he closed the door behind him. "You used to actually play her when we were younger."

With a shrug, Kwan dropped into the seat at Dash's computer. "It's just," he frowned, unable to look at his friend, "weird with the whole crush thing." He truthfully didn't know how to act around her anymore. Every time they were in the same room, she did nothing but stare at him with that blush on her face. It made everything weird and awkward. Paulina was much better at handling the whole thing. She would spend time with Dash's sister and do girly things like makeovers and chat about fashion and other stuff. Dash's sister always seemed to enjoy hanging out with Paulina.

Dash sighed as he took a seat on his bed. "Dude, it's not that hard to at least say hi to her. Lily isn't going to cling to you like a leech or something. Just be your usual self." His eyes dimmed with sadness as he leaned back on his arms. "The doctors were saying things weren't looking good again."

"They say that every time though." Kwan frowned miserably at the expression on his friend's face. It was cutting Dash up inside to know that his sister could be only moments away from death. The doctors kept trying new treatments and for a time she would look like she was getting better, but then Lily would relapse again and the whole process would start again. Nothing they tried seemed to be effective in Lily's case. "She's beaten their predictions before. She can do it again." He tried to sound positive for his friend's sake, but even he could hear the hollowness of his words.

Dash shook his head in that way he had when he was trying to rid the weight of the world from his shoulders but completely failing in the effort. "I just want her to have as happy a life as she can." He rolled his shoulder with his eyes cast away from his friend. Silence fell like a thick blanket over them, so heavy it was like having cotton swabs jammed into his ears. "So," Dash broke it in an awkward tone as his blue eyed gaze swung back around to his friend, "you wanna explain why you snapped at me when I only asked if you wanted me to give you a ride home?" A thick eyebrow lifted in question, and Dash's face clearly said he wouldn't drop the topic if Kwan tried to pass it off as nothing.

Kwan sighed as he turned around in the chair, his attention falling to the computer. "My brother came back yesterday," he grumbled as he started typing on the keyboard, messing around with Dash's computer. The thing was a minefield of problems, lagging like crazy, malware infesting it, not running at its optimal levels. If Kwan didn't come over from time to time to combat all the crap that Dash let attack his computer, the poor thing would crash and never recover.

"Jing came back?" Dash's gawking face reflected on the screen. "Why? I thought he was living it up in his own place?"

Kwan shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. "I guess Mr. Perfect failed at having a relationship so he had to come slinking back to Mommy and Daddy until he can a new apartment." He knew there was bitterness in his voice, but he couldn't stop it from seeping out. Things at home were never all that great between him and his parents. With his brother added into the mix, it only got worse.

"Dude, your brother is not perfect." With a snort, Dash reached out his leg and kicked at the chair.

"Yeah, try telling that to my parents." Kwan tossed a sour glower over his shoulder at his friend.

"Do you want to stay over for dinner then? Think Mom's making her famous meatloaf tonight." Dash offered a grin, thinking perhaps that the comment would garner some amusement from his friend since they both knew how bad Dash's mother's meatloaf tasted. They often made jokes about taking chunks of it and rolling them into balls to pelt at each other like some bizarre form of having a snowball fight. The meatloaf was barely edible, and Dash's mother still never understood why the pair would laugh madly at the end of the dining table whenever she served it for dinner.

Kwan shook his head as his attention returned yet again to the mess that was Dash's computer. "Mom wants me home for dinner." He rolled his aqua green eyes and felt like gagging at the thought. "A special homecoming dinner for their perfect son." His voice filled with false cheer and enthusiasm. It would be a miserable experience. Something on the screen caught his attention, drawing a frown from him. "Hey, did you use your webcam recently?"

"Uh, no." Dash made a face at the question. "So are you going to play on my computer the whole time? Or were we going to get down to the studying?"

The frown didn't leave his face as Kwan stared at the information on the screen. "Yeah," he mumbled absently as he closed out of everything, though the webcam thing was bugging him. "I wouldn't have to play with your computer if you would stop being dumb with it." Getting up from the chair at the desk, he joined Dash on the bed as they broke out their books to work on class assignments.

The time ticked by quickly as they worked on their studying. Every once and a while, Kwan slapped Dash on the back of the head when he caught the blond jock doodling sketches of Phantom and someone else in the margin of his notes instead of actually working on his assignments. Dash developed into an amazing artist over the years. Kwan could still remember the doodles that his friend would do back when they were five and everything looked like a scribbled mess of colors. Now, with Kwan's help, Dash ran a small website where he posted his comics about the rogue program known as Phantom. A lot of the plot was completely made up and featured one particular virus as the villain that kept seeking to destroy the hero.

When night started to settle in, Kwan decided it was time to head home, as much as he didn't really want to go. On the way out of the house, he ran into Lily as she was skipping up the stairs. He ruffled her blonde hair like he used to do when they passed, and he caught a smirk on Dash's face. He punched his friend in the shoulder as Dash dissolved into laughter.

"I'll see you later, man," Kwan said as he exited the house. Dash said goodbye, waving his friend off before closing the door.

He dragged his feet on the walk home, taking his leisurely time to avoid seeing his family again for as long as possible. His house was only about a half hour walk from Dash's house, but he managed to extend it to a fifty minute walk. When he arrived at his home, he took a deep breath before pushing open the door. He dumped his book bag on the bottom step of the stairs.

"You're late," was the first thing out of his mother's mouth as Kwan walked into the dining room.

Plates of his brother's favorite foods were laid out over the dining table, and Kwan groaned at that fact. He would rather stuff his face with Dash's mother's meatloaf than suffer through the overly sweet and sour chicken that his mother always made for his brother.

"Sorry," Kwan muttered with his gaze lowered as he took his spot at the dining table.

He kept his head bowed and tried to eat quickly so that he could get away from his family and disappear into his bedroom for the rest of the night. Despite his attempts to ignore the conversation going on around him, he kept catching bits and pieces of it. His parents, as usual, gushed over their eldest son, happily listing all of his accomplishments from graduating at the top of his class and being the star football player throughout high school to his wonderful career. It was nauseating to listen to them, but the worst was when they would turn the conversation onto Kwan and his failures, his inability to accomplish anything, and the fact that he would never be as successful as his brother. It was the same comments they made all the time, but it didn't hurt any less to keep hearing them.

When he finished his meal, Kwan excused himself, carrying his dirty dishes to the kitchen to clean them before heading up to his bedroom. He snagged his book bag on his way up the stairs. Most of his homework, he managed to finish at Dash's house, despite constant interruptions from his friend being distracted. The rest of his evening was left to fool around, or get a head start on other homework or read ahead for class. He barely sat down at his desk when the door to his room opened. His body tensed, and his eyes barely flicked over his shoulder.

"Your room hasn't changed at all," his brother Jing said as he took a look around the tidy bedroom, which was a lot small than the shrine of a bedroom that their parents kept for their precious perfect son.

"What do you want?" Kwan kept his gaze on the computer in front of him.

"I can't come check on my baby brother?" Jing stood behind him, checking out the work that Kwan was doing at the computer. "That line of coding isn't right."

Kwan gritted his teeth, glowering as he corrected the line. "I don't need you to point out my mistakes." He already got enough of that from their parents.

"I was only trying to help." Jing moved to lean against the desk as he folded his arms.

The resemblance between the brothers was obvious with their shared bronze skin and raven locks, though Kwan kept his hair longer than his brother and Jing was taller with broader shoulders. Their biggest difference was their eyes. Jing had the same dark brown, nearly black, eyes of their parents while Kwan's eyes were a strange aqua green. It was something that made Kwan stand out in the family, and one of the many reasons his parents sneered at him.

"I didn't ask for your help," Kwan grumbled as he tore his gaze away from the computer screen to glare at his brother.

Jing sighed as he turned to face his brother, leaning an arm on the desk. "And what exactly were you doing with Mr. Lancer in the teachers' lounge?"

Kwan's hands curled into tight balls, and his eyes narrowed. "Wasn't that obvious? I mean, you are the perfect son. Surely something so painfully obvious shouldn't leave you, of all people, completely puzzled." His teeth ground as his mind screamed for his brother to leave already.

"You should leave viruses to the professionals," Jing said with a severe frown on his face, the kind of look he always wore when he thought his brother made a mess of everything.

"Sorry to be such a disappointment. Again." Kwan turned his head away from his brother.

"Kwan, that's not-" Jing sighed, running a hand over the short fuzz of his hair. "I'll probably find a new place in a few days." He pushed away from the desk then headed toward the door. "You have a game on Friday, right?"

Kwan merely nodded in response, not taking his eyes away from the computer. He didn't want his brother coming to the game and prayed that his brother wouldn't think of dragging their parents to the game too.

"Great. I can't wait to see you play." Jing closed the door behind him as he left, missing his brother's cringe at that comment.

Kwan dropped his head into his hands with a sigh. He didn't want to hear the conversation that would take place after that game where his parents would point out all the errors he made during the game and how Jing was so much better at playing football. Shaking his head, he decided to focus his mind on something else besides his family problems.

When he turned his gaze back to the computer screen, he frowned as a thought wiggled through his mind. He recalled seeing evidence that someone tampered with the webcam on Dash's computer. His mind started turning over that fact as he started typing. In only a few moments, he discovered that his webcam was also accessed recently from an outside source. He puzzled over that, wrinkles forming over his brow as he concentrated on tracking the person that hacked into his webcam, last night according to his data. One thing puzzling him was why anyone would bother to hack his webcam.

It wasn't difficult to track the person down as they didn't bother to hide their activity, clearly an amateur. Kwan blinked dumbly a few times when he uncovered the person's name, staring at the truth on his screen but hardly believing it to be real. "Fenton?"


	14. Chapter 14

He managed to get all his homework for the next day done with enough time to get more sleep than he normally got since the start of school, but he woke up the next morning still feeling angry and frustrated when his encounter with Vlad Masters replayed again and again in his head. Recalling what Vlad told him made him want to shift forms and blast something. But he could hear his parents moving around downstairs in the kitchen and decided that he didn't really want to give them cause to come racing up the stairs with some new invention, ready to fire at a virus, especially if that new invention happened to be the Data Deleter. They still hadn't tested it out yet on a virus, and Danny really didn't want to be their first test subject.

After getting dressed, Danny headed down the stairs, dropping his book bag by the door before he headed into the kitchen. His parents were sitting at the kitchen table with a book opened before them. The sight gained a lift of one eyebrow from Danny before he turned to grab a bowl from the cabinet to fill with Cheerios and milk. When he had his breakfast, he took a seat at the kitchen table, sitting across from them.

"What are you looking at?" Danny dug his spoon into the bowl and lifted a heaping amount of Cheerios to his mouth.

"Check it out, Danny, my boy!" Jack lifted the book, holding it open to the page at which they were looking. He grinned widely as he held it out for his son to see the pictures on the pages.

His parents were easily discernible to him despite that it looked like the picture was taken around twenty years ago. Danny's brain felt blank when he spotted the third person in the picture. It was another man with darkish hair styled like a mullet with a grayish streak down the middle of his head. There was something familiar about him, but Danny couldn't seem to place it. His blue eyed gaze fell to the words beneath the image, a caption reading: Jack Fenton, Maddie Lancaster, and Vlad Masters in front of their Proto Materialization Portal.

Danny nearly choked on his mouthful of cereal when he read the name. After a few tries, he managed to swallow his food then coughed a couple of times to clear his airway. "Why are you looking at your college year book?" He dreaded the answer when he spotted the excited expressions on his parents face.

"Our old college buddy Vlad sent us a message yesterday," Maddie said with something other than enthusiasm in her voice that Danny couldn't quite identify. She smiled, but there was a tightness to her lips. "He said he would be visiting Amity Park sometime soon. We sent him an invite to come for dinner while he's here."

"You can't!" Danny shouted, his eyes bugging out slightly at that news. When he noticed his parents staring at him in surprise, Danny looked away, hunching his shoulders with a slightly abashed look. He didn't really have a reasonable excuse for his outburst since he couldn't tell his parents that Vlad was some digital entity that believed he was confined mostly to the NetZone. He wasn't even supposed to know who Vlad was since his parents never mentioned him. "I mean, it's such short notice, and the house is a mess." He gulped when his parents glared down at him.

"Perhaps because you've been slacking on your chores." Maddie folded her arms, looking the very picture of a frustrated mother telling her child for the millionth time to pick up after himself.

Danny cringed, one eye squinting as he hunched even more into his chair. "I've been busy with homework," which was mostly true with the decrease of virus activity recently. Skulker was the first virus that month to make an attack.

"I think you can manage a few hours of cleaning before Vlad shows up." Maddie walked over to the sink to start washing the dishes from breakfast.

"It's gonna be great!" Jack shouted cheerily as he went back to looking through his old college yearbook. "The three of us, back together again."

"How come you've never mentioned him before?" Danny frowned at his father as he absently scooped up a spoonful of Cheerios. If they were such good friends, it seemed strange that his parents kept silent about him after all these years.

Jack shrugged with his gaze on the pages of his yearbook. "We've written to him hundreds of times since college. But," he sighed tiredly, "Vlad never responded to anything we sent him until yesterday."

His brow knitted in a deep furrow as Danny watched his father, wondering how that didn't seem suspicious to his parents. Their supposed best friend from college was estranged from them for over twenty years then one day, out of the blue, decided to get in contact with them again. His mouth pulled downward as he realized the message to his parents probably came after he left Vlad's domain on the NetZone. It was his fault that Vlad was reaching out to his parents now.

Danny stood up with his bowl in hand as he walked over to the sink. What was Vlad planning by making contact with his parents? He ignored the concerned frown from his mother as he dumped the remainder of his cereal down the drain. He didn't have much of an appetite after hearing that Vlad might be stopping by the house for a visit any day now. After their first meeting, he decidedly did not like the man. His jaw hurt from grinding his teeth in anger at the very thought of having to be present in the same room as Vlad again, and even more at having to pretend that he didn't completely feel like firing an energy ball at his stupid horned haired head.

"Are you sure you got enough to eat, Danny?" His mother pressed a hand to his head, checking to see if it felt warm.

"Yeah, I should probably head to school. Lots of work and," Danny shrugged, "stuff to get done. Don't want to be late." He jogged out of the kitchen before his parents could ask him any more questions. On the way out the door, he grabbed his book bag before heading off to school. It was too early for Sam to be picking him up for a ride. Realizing that fact, Danny pulled out his phone and typed a quick text message to let her know that she wouldn't need to stop by his house.

The crisp air of late November soon to be December made Danny hug his arms around his body, shivering despite his thick, warm hoodie. He looked forward to the warm summer days ahead, several months ahead, and the real cold of winter hadn't even hit yet. Heaving a sigh that came out in a puff of white, he wished time could fly by much quicker. Graduation was inching closer at a snail's pace, but with the improvement to his grades, he had no worries about being held back a year. A smile slid over his face at that thought. Not too long ago, he thought he wouldn't be able to graduate because his grades were so bad. It was a point that Lancer kept trying to drill into him while Danny remained in that phase of not liking the teacher. But it wasn't entirely his fault for being lazy. He tried, but the virus attacks made it difficult to keep up with his homework sometimes. None of the other students at Casper High had that same responsibility that he had.

Danny was almost to the school when he noticed Kwan walking ahead of him. His gaze dropped to the ground as he wondered what to do. The memory of what he saw when spying through the webcam on the jock's computer jumped right back to the forefront of his mind, and the guilty feeling settled into the pit of his stomach. How was he supposed to act around the other man after seeing Kwan's father slam him into the wall? Was that all that took place? Or did something more happen after he cut the connection? He still didn't have the answers to those questions.

"Hey, Kwan," Danny said as he reached the jock. "Dash didn't give you a ride today?"

Aqua green eyes glanced his way, and Kwan shrugged. "Happens sometimes." His voice sounded scratchy, and Danny noticed bags under his eyes now that he was walking beside the jock. Kwan stopped and turned to face the shorter man. His mouth thinned unhappily as his gaze seemed to pierce into Danny, who gulped nervously. "Why would you hack the webcam on my computer?"

The question froze Danny inside, his mouth hanging open as blue eyes widened. How could Kwan have possibly known about that? But then he remembered the look of the jock's room and realized if Kwan was as big a techno geek as Tucker, he could probably track a hacking back to the source. He was already preparing to bolt at the first sign that Kwan was going to pound him into next week for the transgression.

"You actually think I know to hack anything?" Danny managed a breathy laugh that sounded a bit hysterical to his ears. "I need Tuck to come over any time my computer freezes." His mouth snapped shut with a soft clink of his teeth, and he swallowed nervously. From the way Kwan kept staring at him, he was sure that the jock wasn't buying what he said. It wasn't completely a lie. He _really_ didn't know how to hack. Not in the way that normal people would hack another person's computer anyway. He shifted his weight but kept his gaze locked with Kwan's eyes. He felt if he looked away now that would only confirm his guilt to the jock.

"I guess you didn't really inherit your parents' knack for technology." With a shrug, Kwan started walking toward the high school again.

Danny followed, but he had a strange feeling that Kwan didn't quite believe him. With his arms hugged tightly around him to try to gather some warmth, he kept darting his glance toward the jock. What should he say now after that awkward moment? Should he even say anything? They weren't exactly best friends, and the only reason they even spent any time together during the past year was because they were in the same theater class.

"Do you think we'll beat our rivals this Friday?" Danny glanced at Kwan from under his raven bangs that were hanging down over his eyes as he walked with his head bowed. Sam didn't always enjoy going to the football games with him and Tucker, but she went along with them anyway, often sulking at their sides while they cheered on their school's team.

Kwan scratched a hand through his dark locks. "It looks like we might win," he answered as they walked up the steps of the school. "We've got a pretty good team this year, and we've been doing well against the other teams in the district. We might have a chance of winning back the cup this year."

"I'll be rooting for you." Danny grinned and felt like kicking himself for sounding like an idiot.

Kwan blinked at him then smiled in return. "Thanks."

Seeing Valerie down the hallway with a sour glare on her face when she spotted them together, Danny decided now was probably the best time to part ways. "Well, I'll see you in class." He waved to Kwan before he headed off toward his locker, leaving the jock to mingle with the rest of the A list.

When he reached his locker, Danny slid down to sit on the ground, leaning back against the cold metal that he thankfully couldn't feel through his hoodie. He got out some books to get a head start on some other homework, but he couldn't really focus. His brain kept circling back to the news his parents dropped on him that morning. He was sure Jazz would have some psycho babble to ramble on about in regards to their parents' behavior. Heaving a sigh, he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling that was a sickly off white color.

"How come you came to school early?" Tucker asked when he and Sam arrived, and Danny realized he completely spaced out while he agonized internally over Vlad's coming to visit his parents.

"Yeah, usually we have to wait on you, slow poke." Sam stared down at her friend as she folded her arms, the sleeves of her neatly pressed coat wrinkling.

With a sigh, Danny rubbed at his face. "A friend of my parents told them he would be coming to town soon. And now my parents are all excited about him visiting, and I just want to be past that already." He ran his hand through his raven locks, yanking on them in his frustration. "Why does he have to visit?"

"What are you stressing out about?" Tucker laughed as he opened his locker to retrieve some of his textbooks. "So you'll probably have to sit around listening to boring stories for your parents' college days. Just say you've got a load of homework to get done and sneak off to your room for the rest of the night."

"You wouldn't have to lie about that one either." Sam smirked down at Danny, who returned her look with a frown.

"Hey, I'm pretty caught up on my homework now," Danny argued as he crammed his stuff back into his book bag since the bell would be ringing soon to signal the start of the first class of the day.

Danny really doubted that Vlad would let him escape with such an excuse though, not when Vlad's number one reason for visiting his college friends was because their son was stupid enough to mess with the Fenton Material Portal and land himself with weird digital powers. But of course, Danny couldn't say anything about that to his friends. It was at times like this that he felt unbelievably frustrated with his secret. If they knew that he was really Phantom, he could rant out all his frustrations to them, but he didn't want to risk putting them in harm's way. He knew they would never let him go into a fight without them being there to support him in any way that they could. They were loyal to a fault in that way. He loved them both madly for that reason, but it was also what stopped him from speaking to them about the accident.

"I'll see you guys at lunch," Danny said, slinging his book bag over his shoulder. Tucker and Sam both offered their goodbyes as the three friends parted ways, each heading off to their first class of the day.


	15. Chapter 15

The week hadn't gone very well for her. From having that loser Tucker bump into at the start of school on Tuesday to that afternoon when stupid Danny spilled her soda and ruined her four hundred dollar shirt, that she just bought, Valerie was in a foul mood for the rest of the week. Thursday nights was one of many nights over the week where Valerie would pick up dinner for her father and bring it to him while he worked. Her father wouldn't get to eat, being so busy with his job, until near midnight when he returned home from work if she didn't bring him something. It was their rare chance to spend time together over a meal, and Valerie grabbed at the opportunity to keep some connection to her father beyond his credit card.

Valerie entered the building of Axion Labs, toting a plastic bag with take out from a Chinese restaurant that her father liked best. The woman at the front desk greeted her with a kind smile. On occasion when her father was too busy with work to watch over when she was younger and he didn't want her home alone, Valerie would spend time with Shelia, who would watch over her. They grew to know each other quite well over the years, and when Valerie turned up at Axion Labs, Shelia didn't bother to ask her why she was there. Shelia already knew the reason: to see her father. Valerie waved to her as she walked past Shelia on her way toward the office of the head of security.

She didn't cross paths when anyone working there as she walked to the office. When she reached it with a sign engraved with: Head of Security, Damon Gray, Valerie knocked on the door. In a moment, her father opened the door and smiled when he spotted her.

"What's on the menu tonight?" Mr. Gray asked, needing no explanation from his daughter for her reason for being there. He held the door open for her to enter his office.

He dressed in his usual suit with the red tie that Valerie's mother gave him years ago when Valerie was still only a child. He took very good care of it, always making sure it never got stained or became ratty with age. When she hugged him and he leaned his head down into the crook of her neck, holding her close, his bushy mustache tickled her like always. Mr. Gray stood up straight after she pulled away, and he adjusted the half moon glasses that he wore.

"Chinese," Valerie announced as she walked over to his desk and set the plastic bag down on it. Her gaze drifted over the work laid out over her father's desk. "Looks like you've been busy." She picked up a paper, glancing over the writing on the page that she didn't fully understand. It looked like coding and writing detailing something about security.

"I just oversaw the implementation of a new security system," Mr. Gray explained, plucking the paper from his daughter's hands. Gathering up the rest of the papers, he cleared off space on his desk for them to eat. He filed away the papers before returning to his desk and opening up the bag, breathing in the strong aroma of General Tso's chicken and Low Mein.

"A new security system?" Valerie parroted, only half interested as they took out the white boxes of food. She often asked her father about his work, though she didn't pay too much attention to what he said. With all the rambling she did about her own life, she could spend a few minutes pretending to care about her father's work.

"With this new system, we shouldn't have to worry about viruses hacking into our computers and will make my job easier if anyone tries to break in." Mr. Gray speared a chunk of General Tso's chicken with his plastic fork. "It took us the majority of the last few days to finish setting it all up. If all goes well, I might be looking at a raise for pushing the implementation of this new system."

The mention of a raise caught Valerie's attention. "Does that mean you'll let me get those front row tickets for the Humpty Dumpty concert when they go on sale next week?" she questioned while wearing a hopeful look. When she asked about the concert two weeks ago, Mr. Gray was still on the fence about her buying tickets for herself and a select few of the A list crowd. The tickets were fairly expensive, and Mr. Gray didn't seem quite willing for the four teenagers to attend the concert alone, even though they were all eighteen and didn't need constant adult supervision. Valerie knew it was only because he worried about her safety, but sometimes it frustrated her.

"We'll see," Mr. Gray answered noncommittally as he continued eating his dinner.

Valerie sighed, poking at her box of Low Mein. She was really hoping for some good news after the week she had with losers being clumsy idiots. Her mind turned back to Monday and the conversation after school with her friends. She couldn't believe Dash would actually allow Danny into his house, but she realized at that point that the blond jock seemed to pound on Danny a lot less recently. The tines of her white plastic fork was trapped between her lips as she pondered over that point. Dash still made jokes at Danny's expense, teasing the loser, but the jock didn't seem to go out of the way to hunt down Danny and push him around like he would in the past. Her green eyes narrowed down into her food as she wondered when exactly that change occurred. But the more important question in her mind was why Dash's attitude changed. Was it simply because they grew up and he matured over the years? She shook her head, not believing that to be the answer, but it still left her with the big mystery surrounding Dash.

At the sudden, loud siren filling the building, Valerie tensed as she snapped her gaze toward her father. Mr. Gray was already out of his seat and heading for the door of his office. Swallowing the mouthful of food she was eating, Valerie got up to follow him out of the room, but her father placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving farther.

"Stay here," Mr. Gray ordered firmly with a sternness in his green gaze. Then he turned to leave the office, going to see what caused the alarm on the new security system to go off.

With a frown, Valerie folded her arms as she wondered who would be breaking into Axion Labs. Her eyes glanced about the office before she came to a decision. She slipped out of the office and checked both ways down the hall. Then she crept through the halls of the building, searching for where the break in occurred. She knew her father was very good at his job, but she hardly ever had the opportunity to really see him in action. All the times that she visited before, there was never a real break in to building. A virus might attempt to break through their firewall, but that usually didn't require Mr. Gray to do anything more than get one of the tech employees to come in and fight off the virus.

A noise from one of the rooms made her stop in the middle of the hall. Valerie gulped at the sound of something smashing and breaking apart like someone was in the room beating on the machinery with a metal baseball bat. Her eyes swept around the hall but there were no night guards or personnel in this section of the building. Hesitantly, almost too scared to approach where she heard the noise, Valerie steeled her nerves and walked toward the room from where the noise continued to come. The door was already ajar, and she pressed her head close to the frame as she nudged the door open a little more for a better look inside to the room. Beyond the door, the room was filled with various tech that she couldn't even identify aside from the computer console in front of a wide glass pane. Her father never told her much about what Axion Labs really did in terms of their development of new technology, but she also never actually asked about it. Technology beyond the latest computer and cell phone and tablet was of little interest to her. She wasn't a techno geek like Tucker, after all.

At the sight of the room, her breath caught. All the strange tech was in ruin. Parts of whatever was being worked on lay scattered across the floor. Wires dangled from machines that sparked with electricity after having something smashed into it. She gaped at the destruction, wondering what sort of person would break into a company like Axion Labs and bash up all the equipment in one of their laboratories.

A groan drew her attention away from the destruction, and she dragged her gaze over to where someone was sitting up from a pile of rubble, shifting the broken parts of a shattered machine with the action. Her green eyes grew wider when she recognized the stranger. Everyone in Amity Park knew about the rogue program known as Phantom. The Guys in White and the Fentons hunted him down like a menace to society, wanting to protect the town from his destructive ways. Reports on the television about virus outbreaks usually painted him a bad light, making him sound as bad as the virus that was attacking the town. Some of the other students at Casper High liked to idolize the rogue program as some kind of hero. Valerie knew that Dash, especially, was a huge fan of Phantom. She never cared enough about him to pay attention to his activity.

Phantom shook his head, flinging tiny bits of electronics from his white hair as he stood. His glowing green eyes narrowed in rage behind the cracked visor that he wore. The angry look on his face stayed with Valerie even after the program jumped through the undamaged computer console, entering the NetZone after leaving the laboratory in ruins.

Valerie shoved the door open, letting it bang against the wall as she glowered at the computer. What kind of hero came into a company and destroyed everything? After seeing that display, Valerie couldn't see why anyone would consider Phantom a hero when he looked like merely another virus to her.

"Valerie!"

At the shocked gasp, Valerie twisted around to find her father coming down the hall with three of the night guards behind him. Mr. Gray wore a very unhappy look on his face as he stared at his daughter. With a gulp, Valerie stumbled back half a step as the group approached when she stood. Already, she was wincing internally when she thought about her father's reaction to what happened to the laboratory.

"I told you stay in my office," Mr. Gray said, disappointment underlying his voice. The frown on his face was the same one that he always wore when she was in trouble. Disobeying his order probably wasn't the wisest move that she could have made, but Valerie couldn't deny her curiosity and wanting to see her father doing his job, when she could actually understand it. All the technical jargon about security measures tended to go over her head whenever she did try to listen to him.

"Uh, Sir," said a pimply faced night guard that looked like he was barely in his twenties. His blue eyes were locked on the room where Valerie saw Phantom trashing the machinery.

Mr. Gray ripped his eyes away from his daughter, snapping his gaze toward the room. He jerked in surprise at the state of the machines that greeted him, mouth falling agape. "What happened here?"

"I didn't do it!" Valerie shouted immediately, her eyes narrowing angrily. She wasn't going to be the one taking the blame for something some stupid virus did.

"I know you didn't," Mr. Gray said, but he still looked shocked by the destruction done to the laboratory. He turned to his men and instructed them to look for evidence mixed in with the mess of broken parts.

"It was that Phantom virus," Valerie explained almost with a growl in her voice. "I saw him. He hopped back into the NetZone after he finished trashing the place."

Mr. Gray sighed as he turned back to his daughter and placed his hands on her shoulders. "We still have to go through everything and gather up evidence and file a report about this incident."

Another night guard jogged up the hall, holding a hand to his head to keep his hat from flying off. His wispy blond hair peeked out from under the gray hat. He was out of breath when he finally reached them, pausing with a hand to his chest as he tried to regain his breath.

"Mr. Peterson wants to see you right away," the night guard said when he wasn't so winded anymore.

His expression turned grave when Mr. Gray heard that announcement. "You," he said in a stern voice as he pointed a finger at his daughter, "are to return to my office and stay there until I come." His tone left no room for argument. "Make sure she gets back to my office without any delays, John," he added, directing his attention to the wispy haired night guard, who saluted him as Mr. Gray walked off down the hall.

"Great," Valerie grumbled as she folded her arms. She glowered at the guard that led her back to her father's office. "Stuck with a baby sitter."

"Maybe you wouldn't need a baby sitter if you acted your age and did as you were told," muttered the night guard as he narrowed his blue eyes down at her.

With a withering look, Valerie decided she definitely would never like this man. When they reached her father's office, she was more than happy to slam the door in the man's face. She could always figure out a way to escape from the office, if she got desperate enough, but her father would probably return soon enough. Walking over to the desk, she sat down and started poking at what remained of their dinner. The food was only lukewarm now, but at least it wasn't cold. She ate some bites here and there as she watched the clock. The minutes ticked by slowly until at one point she thought the clock might have broken as it took an increasingly longer time to click to the next minute.

When the door finally opened, Valerie jerked out of her mind numbing stupor. She dropped the plastic fork back into the box of Low Mein that she was eating as she twisted around in the chair. Her father stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. At his weary look, Valerie frowned at her father. He seemed more exhausted than usually.

"What did Mr. Peterson want?" Valerie asked, watching her father walk over to the desk.

"Don't worry about it, Sweetie," Mr. Gray said with his gaze lowered as he closed the lid of the box filled with General Tso's chicken. "We can heat this up at home."

Her brow pinched as Valerie stared at her father. "What do you mean at home? Doesn't your shift end at eleven?"

"Not tonight, Sweetie." Mr. Gray picked up the box of Low Mein, deftly folding the flaps shut before he stuffed it into the plastic bag along with the other boxes of Chinese food.

Valerie didn't like the sound of that, and she didn't move from the chair when he father walked toward the office door. "What happened, Dad?" She landed him with that hard look she reserved for when she meant business. She wasn't moving from that chair until her father explained everything to her. It was a tactic that worked well in the past, even if it sometimes made her come off looking like a spoiled brat to outsiders.

Mr. Gray stared at his daughter with a miserable dimness to his green eyes. His shoulders lifted as he took a deep breath then exhaled a defeated sigh. "I was fired."

It was only three simple words, but they shocked her system. Valerie sat up ram rod straight on the chair as she gawked at her father. He got fired all because some stupid virus got in and wrecked some machines? Her hands curled tightly at her sides, swearing vengeance against that wannabe hero Phantom.


	16. Chapter 16

He wasn't looking forward to this meeting, _really_ didn't want to see his old college friends, and knew their son wouldn't want to see him. But with the house already towering over him with the large sign reading Fenton Works, which looked like a horrible eyesore but was so totally and utterly Jack that it hardly surprised him, Vlad decided it was too late to turn around now. He stood before the front door, hesitant about actually ringing the doorbell and alerting the family to his presence. On the rare few times that he dared to leave the NetZone, Vlad only dealt with reporters wanting an interview or speaking with his board and staff. Meeting with old friends, having casual conversations, became a completely foreign concept to him after all his years alone within the NetZone with only Cujo for company.

Taking a deep breath, Vlad lifted his hand and pressed a finger to the doorbell. He could hear the ring echoing in the house and part of him hoped that perhaps they wouldn't be home, but the big assault vehicle parked outside told him that they were presently within their home. He was already regretting that message as he folded his arms behind his back and waited for some member of the family to open the door. His dark blue eyes glared flatly at the door in front of him, and he prayed it wouldn't be Jack that arrived at the door first. His old friend and college roommate could be _quite_ the handful for his boisterous enthusiasm. Back breaking enthusiasm at times.

"Hell-" The door promptly slammed shut before the one who answered it could even finish the greeting. Vlad stared blandly at the door with a slight pursing of his lips. The young man was certainly lacking in manners with that type of behavior. In half a moment, the door opened again to the familiar, and still lovely, face of Maddie Lan- Fenton. Vlad still cursed the fact that Jack managed to win Maddie's heart over him, but trying to woo her away from him would be a pointless venture.

"Vlad," Maddie greeted with a pleasant smile as she opened to door wider and stepped aside to allow him to enter her home.

"Lovely to see you as always, Maddie." With a false smile, Vlad entered the house, taking one of Maddie's hands in his own as he brought it to his mouth and placed a gentle kiss upon the back.

"Vladdie!"

Barely even a second after the shout, Vlad found himself swept into the large arms of his old college roommate. He cringed, swearing he heard pops along his back as Jack crushed him in the tight embrace. "Nice to see you too, Jack," he wheezed, struggling to breathe. When he was finally released, Vlad coughed a few times before regaining his composure.

"You should have told us you were dropping in today," Jack said with a pout on his face. "Oh! Let me show you our lab!" He stepped behind Vlad, dropping his larger hands onto the silver haired man's shoulders as he started directing his friend toward their laboratory.

"We'll have plenty of time for that." Vlad brushed Jack's hands off his shoulders. He had no intention of staying long enough to see what crazy contraptions his old friends were inventing now. "I didn't come here to talk shop after all." He turned around to face his old friends as he straightened his suit jacket. He turned his gaze to sweep about the house that he could see from the front hall. It looked very homey, having that average lived in feel of a normal family of the middle class. Vlad had a castle with fancy furnishings and Packers paraphernalia that now sat empty and unused after his confinement to the NetZone. He only maintained the castle in Wisconsin to keep up appearances since it would look strange if he didn't have a place of residency.

Then his gaze fell upon Jack and Maddie again. A thick arm wrapped around Maddie's waist, holding her close to the large body of her husband. Vlad bit his tongue as the bitterness of seeing them together rose up in the back of his throat like a foul taste. They just looked so - Vlad's hand clenched tightly at his sides - _happy_ together. Why couldn't it have been him? The question filled his mind for years, wondering why he had to end up with this digital form, why he had to get caught up in that accident, why he had to lose out on finding love and happiness in his life. It was hardly fair, but he learned to swallow that bitter pill and forced himself to accept that life was never fair. Not for everyone, and apparently especially not for him.

"I am so sorry about the way our son reacted when he answered the door," Maddie apologized with a frown as she placed a hand to her face. "I don't know what got into him. He doesn't usually act rudely like that."

"It's quite all right." Vlad put on a charming smile for Maddie and found it easy to pretend to be polite if he thought of this as simply another business meeting instead of a visit with old friends. "Teenagers, if I recall correctly, don't always have the best of manners." His attempt to smooth things over didn't rid the woman of her frown.

"I'll go get him," Maddie announced before she headed up the stairs to the second floor. Vlad's gaze followed her until she disappeared, and he hoped Daniel wasn't stupid enough to do something like jump into the NetZone after seeing Vlad upon his doorstep. He _hoped_ the young man had enough sense in him, but Daniel's past grades didn't leave Vlad with a lot of confidence, though they had improved since the beginning of the current school year.

"Well, Vladdie," Jack said, slinging his thick arm around Vlad as he guided his college roommate into the front room of the house. The decor made Vlad wrinkle his nose in distaste, but he kept his opinions to himself. "I," the larger man wore a frown on his face as they took a seat on the sofa, "hope there's no blood between us after all these years."

"Excuse me?" Vlad lifted one eyebrow at him, and the show of confusion wasn't completely false.

Jack sighed as he lifted a hand to rake through his raven locks that were turning white on the bottom half of his head. "I know you always kind of had a thing for Maddie in college, and I really never meant to betray you like that. But," he shrugged, turning a frown onto the man beside him, "you can't always stop your heart from feeling the way it does. I fell in love with her, and she fell in love with me. I hope you can forgive us."

No was what Vlad wanted to bite out bitterly, and he struggled not to curl his hands into fists or clench his teeth or glare furiously at Jack for stealing way the woman that he loved in college. As much as he tried to get over it, those feelings still remained, lingering inside him and twisting about his heart.

"I can't fault you for being the one she chose." But Vlad did! Some part of him would probably always blame Jack for his lost chance at winning Maddie's heart.

"Really now. I don't know what's gotten into you." Maddie's voice drifted down from the second floor as mother and son came down the stairs together with Maddie urging the young man forward.

All protests her son had went ignored. When they reached the front room, Daniel's gaze landed on Vlad, and he glared at the other digital being, looking clearly like he wanted to yell at him or shout out the truth about what Vlad was. Vlad smirked inwardly when Daniel remained silently fuming to himself.

"This is our son Danny," Maddie announced proudly, hugging an arm around her son, who wore a disgruntled look as she pressed the sides of their heads together.

"Sorry you can't meet Jazz." Jack frowned in his disappointment over that fact. "She's still away at college. But hey," he grinned widely as an idea came to him and slapped his large hand over Vlad's back, knocking the wind out of his old college friend, "maybe if you stay to visit for the Christmas holiday, you'll get to meet her."

"Yes," Vlad said stiffly, subtly putting a few inches of space between him and Jack, "that would be lovely."

"Right," Daniel said, giving Vlad a sideways glare as he turned to his mother. "Well, you all can have fun rehashing the old days, or whatever. I was planning on going to the game tonight."

"Football!" Jack shot up from the sofa as dread drained the color from Daniel's face. "What do you say, Vladdie? Want to go watch them play? Remember all those old football moves we used to have?"

_No_ , Vlad thought with another rise of anger. Jack might have had football moves with the right solid build, but Vlad was much smaller in size and lacked that same overpowering strength to make him anything more than a good practice dummy for the team to tackle. He gritted his teeth at the memory of being slammed into the ground, repeatedly, when Jack tackled him. But he turned his attention onto Daniel, who looked like he was praying for some miracle to save him from the embarrassment of his parents showing up at the high school football game.

"I do enjoy a good game," Vlad said, smirking at the seething glare he received from Daniel, though he was impressed that Daniel managed to keep his eyes from shifting to the glowing green of his digital form with the rage clearly shown on his face. "It probably won't be as exciting at the Green Bay Packers games that I'm used to attending, but it should be charming in its own quaint way, I suppose."

"To assault vehicle!" Jack shouted gleefully as he pointed toward the front door, which only made his son look even more mortified. Then he turned toward his college friend, and his eager grin made Vlad feel somewhat wary. "You're going to love it! We've decked out with all our latest virus fighting weapons."

Vlad stood, feeling even more worried about stepping foot into that possible death trap. His gaze turned to Daniel as he wondered how terrified the young man was about all the potentially harmful weaponry in his home. By the time Vlad reached the front door, Jack and Maddie were already outside and climbing into the assault vehicle. Daniel blocked the open doorway, his bright blue eyes narrowing at him.

"I don't know what you're up to," Daniel said, trying to summon up what he probably thought to be his most threatening tone, but Vlad only stared down at him dully, "but after tonight, you leave and you don't come back. Ever."

Vlad snorted as he leaned down until his face was right before Daniel's, their eyes at the same level and their breaths mingling as they exhaled. "What do you think I'm doing here? Trying to steal your mother? Kill your father?" His mouth stretched wide over his face in a smirk when Daniel's anger faltered, fear inching into his eyes. Vlad laughed as he stood up straight. "How small minded." He folded his arms behind his back. "I wasn't going to bother following through with that message I sent them. That was simply a ruse."

"What?" Daniel blinked in puzzlement. A yip came from the watch upon the man's wrist, and Daniel lifted his arm, staring at it with equal confusion. After a click of a button, a holograph appeared over the watch, displaying the green puppy of Vlad's security program Cujo. The puppy barked happily, dancing about in a circle. Daniel snapped furious eyes onto Vlad. "You bugged me?" he demanded, managing not to shout at the other digital being. Jack and Maddie were out of ear shot, but they would probably be alerted to something being wrong if they heard their son shouting.

"I thought it wise to keep an eye on you." Vlad managed only a small sneer at the young man as he thought, _Since you seem insistent on ignoring my warning_. "And it seems I made the right choice after you broke into my company here."

"Your company-" Danny jerked, standing up a little straighter. "You own Axion Labs? I thought your company was Vlad Tech." He stared in complete bafflement over this new information.

Vlad sighed, almost tiredly at having to explain things to the young man. "I have several companies. My main and most known about company is, of course, Vlad Tech which deals in designing new operating systems and computers and protection for those computers and is located in Wisconsin. But I also have companies in several other states around the country, including Axion Labs here in Amity Park."

Daniel narrowed his eyes, the gears working in his head as he clicked a button on the watch to make the holograph of Cujo vanish. "Because you're obsessed with my mother?"

Vlad sniffed at him. "In the past, yes." He leaned toward Daniel. "But my reason for being here is because of you. I believe there's a young lady in your school by the name of Valerie Gray." He had no need to question it after having already looked into the Gray family after the incident that occurred last night at Axion Labs.

Daniel stepped up close to Vlad with a threatening glare in his blue eyes that hardly made the silver haired man flinch. "I might not be the best of friends with Valerie, but you keep away from her."

"I have no interest in the young lady." Vlad's mouth thinned as he watched Daniel's reaction. That temper of his could lead the young man into trouble if he wasn't careful. "But her father was head of security at Axion Labs."

A narrowing of eyes suggested Daniel was struggling to put it together. "What do you mean 'was?'"

"Naturally, he had to be let go. Fired," Vlad smirked, "in case that brain of yours can't understand such a simple idea."

"But it wasn't his fault," Daniel argued. "It was that virus."

Vlad took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. "Daniel, Mr. Gray was in charge of security. He created new security measures to protect against viruses attacking the company, and those new measures failed. Not only that, but because of your fight with that virus, millions of dollars worth of equipment was destroyed. Since he spearheaded this whole new security system, the blame for the incident falls on his shoulders."

"But that isn't fair!"

"Life, you'll come to find, Daniel, is not always fair." Vlad narrowed his eyes down at the young man, feeling bitterness at how unfair his own life seemed. "Do you see now how your silly heroics affect other people? You chase down the virus, destroy property in the process, and the humans left behind take the fall. Perhaps the consequences have never been of great concern to you, but now look what's happened. Your classmate's father is jobless. They'll probably have to sell their home. And it's all your fault."

"Okay. I get it." Anger burned in Daniel's blue eyes, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. "I'm sorry for wrecking your stuff. But would you rather I left that virus to mess around at your company?"

"Simply saying sorry doesn't solve everything." Though Vlad did admit he was partially thankful that Daniel chased off the virus from Axion Labs. "And apologizing certainly isn't going to help your classmate with this problem you've landed on her family."

"Then give Mr. Gray his job back," Daniel ordered like it was that simple.

Vlad stared flatly at the young man. "He failed at his job. It was your fault," a smirk tried to stretch across his face at the heated glare from Daniel, "but that doesn't excuse his failure. Now he must suffer the consequences of that failure."

"Can't he have, like, a second chance?" Daniel frowned, and Vlad could see this new knowledge was greatly affecting him. It tore the raven haired man up inside to realize that he cost someone their job with his actions, and that was what Vlad hoped to accomplish with this conversation.

"I suppose he could return at a much lower paying job. A night guard, perhaps." Up until this incident, Mr. Gray did fairly good work at his job as head of security for Axion Labs. Vlad didn't exactly wish to go through the process of hiring someone new to fill his place because of one little slip up, but he couldn't simply allow Mr. Gray to return as head of security after the incident. "But he would probably still have to make some major adjustments to his life. His pay would be far lower than what he was used to."

Daniel scowled, his mouth opening to snap back at the older man when a honk interrupted their conversation. They both turned to see Jack waving his large hand out the driver's side window at them to hurry up. Vlad passed by the young man without a second glance as he made his way toward that dreadful looking contraption.


	17. Chapter 17

"What happened to you?" Sam asked, lifting an eyebrow in question when Danny showed up. In the next moment, she had her answer when she spotted her friend's parents making their way toward the football field from the parking lot. "What are your parents doing here?"

Danny glowered at his friend, still in a mood after the whole conversation he had with Vlad at his house and the car ride to the high school. His father wasn't the safest driver to be in a car with, but the sturdy metal sidings of the assault vehicle would have saved them from injury if they rammed through the wall of a building. Danny actually knew that, sadly, from experience. His father seemed to have a habit of crashing through things.

"Let's just go find our seats," Danny suggested, grabbing his friends by the arm and dragging them to the stands. Hopefully, he could sit far, _far_ away from his parents. And especially Vlad.

"Was that," Tucker started hesitantly with his gaze thrown over his shoulder, "Vlad Masters with your parents?" He twisted his head back around to gape at Danny. "Why are your parents with Vlad Masters?"

That was a conversation Danny really didn't want to have with his friends since so much of his encounter with Vlad couldn't be mentioned. He ground his teeth, debating if he should actually tell his friends the truth about him, but now wasn't a good time, not when they were surrounded by almost the entire school around them. All he really wanted was to be able to rant about what happened with Vlad. He couldn't even tell them about Valerie's father losing his job.

"Apparently he used to be friends with my parents," Danny grumbled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket as they climbed the stairs of the bleachers to find an open spot to sit and watch the game.

"Dude, you gotta hook me up!" Tucker nudged him in the ribs with a mad grin on his face.

Danny rolled his eyes at that request because, of course, Tucker would want access to some of the latest tech on the market. But Danny didn't want to ask Vlad for anything. Period. Clockwork was clearly wrong when he thought that Vlad would be a better teacher for him. Danny didn't care that Vlad probably knew far better than any other program or virus or other type of entity living on the NetZone did about his powers and how to train him. He would rather remain weak than beg Vlad to help him.

"I wouldn't count on it," Danny said as they found seats, unfortunately right next to the In crowd with Valerie sitting nearest to them. Paulina and Star were busy performing as cheerleaders on the sidelines. Danny kept his gaze away from Valerie, pointedly ignoring her and unsuccessfully trying to pretend there wasn't a stab of guilt inside him. "He doesn't seem like the type to give out stuff for free or do favors for friends. He's a bit of a jerk."

Tucker pouted, obviously disappointed that he wouldn't be getting some not on the market yet tech. Sam, on the other hand, looked suspicious beyond her unhappiness with being dragged to yet another football game.

"How come you've never mentioned that your parents know Vlad Masters?" Sam frowned at him, bundled up tightly in her warm black winter coat.

"Hey, I didn't even know about it until they told me he was suddenly coming for a visit." Danny leaned forward, balancing his arms on his legs as he turned his attention onto the field in front of them. They were late to the game, and their team was already up by one touchdown. They were in possession of the ball, and Danny's gaze easily found Dash and Kwan among the huddle of the Casper High Ravens. When he turned to sweep his eyes over the crowd on their team's side of the stands, Danny groaned at his parents sitting right up front with Vlad Masters right next to his mother. That comment about stealing his mother and killing his father still didn't sit well with him. His blue eyes narrowed at the silver haired man, hoping somehow Vlad would be able to feel the glare boring into the back of his head.

"I think I want to have a talk with that man," Sam said with her gaze also directed toward Vlad. "I've heard some bad things about his company here. Like testing on poor, defenseless animals."

"You're crazy, Sam," Tucker scoffed as he shook his head. "There's no proof to support that rumor. Besides, Axion Labs isn't some stupid beauty product company. They develop new technology. Why would they test stuff on animals?"

At the mention of Axion Labs, Danny couldn't help tearing his gaze away from Vlad and glancing at Valerie. If she heard the mention of where her father used to work, she gave no hint of paying attention to the conversation of losers.

"You don't know that," Sam snapped, glaring at Tucker. "They work on a lot of stuff that they keep quiet and don't tell the public about."

"Can we just watch the game?" Danny sighed tiredly as he dropped his gaze to the field. He didn't want to think too much on Vlad and Axion Labs and Valerie's father and the way his actions cost the man his job. It all left a miserable feeling inside him, making it difficult to enjoy the game as he watched Dash throw the football down the field to one of the other players that Danny only vaguely remembered but not enough to recall his name.

Number seven caught the ball and ran for the end zone while the players from their rival school the West Elmerton Wolverines tried to stop him from making the touchdown. Danny got to his feet along with the majority of the crowd on their side of the stands, all holding their breaths in wait to see if number seven would score.

Ten feet. Five feet! Number seven dodged through the players while the rest of the team tried to clear the way, tackling the other team's players. He was so close to the end zone!

A soft growl distracted his attention from the field as the crowd on their side of the field broke into loud cheers when number seven reached the end zone. Danny dropped his gaze to the watch he wore, and he saw the dog's face on the screen. It was in its large dog form with glaring red eyes as it snarled. As angry as he was at Vlad for sneaking the security program to spy on him, Danny wasn't dumb enough to ignore the warning. If something alerted the security program, then he should prepare for a virus attack.

"We forgot snacks," Danny told his friends as he stood, making his way through the row to the steps.

"Forget about the - Danny!" Tucker huffed irritably when his friend ignored him and continued down the bleacher steps to the ground.

Danny needed to find a safe place to transform, but with all the people surrounding him, that wouldn't be easy. His gaze caught Vlad's eyes when he passed the man at the bottom of the bleachers. He didn't miss the slight narrowing of dark blue eyes as Vlad probably tried to determine what Danny was up to. After a sneer toward the man, Danny snapped his gaze away.

A loud popping sound preceded the rain of sparks onto the field as the end lights blew out. There was a collective intake, a shocked gasp, at the strange occurrence, and even the players on the field halted in uncertainty of the blown lights. Another pop sounded the blow out of another set of lights, followed by another and another until all the lights were out. Murmurs filled the crowd, no one understanding what was happening.

A hand grabbed hold of his arm, dragging him around behind the stands toward the school. When they were well enough out of sight, the lack of lights from the football field casting dark shadows all around, Danny twisted his arm free and glared at the man.

"What are you doing?" Danny glowered at the older man while the security program continued growling from his watch.

Vlad folded his arms as he narrowed his eyes at Danny. "What were _you_ planning to do?" His mouth thinned in that disapproving way that all adults seemed to have when they thought children were doing something bad. "About to rush off and destroy more property? Do you even know what you're going up against yet? Do you always just run blindly into battle without any sort of plan?"

"I've been doing this for the past three years," Danny argued angrily, not appreciating being talked to like a misbehaving child that didn't know anything. "I've done just fine on my own. I don't need your help. And in case you missed it, I didn't ask for it." That familiar surge of electricity tingled through him as he shifted into his digital form.

A scream jerked the attention of both men toward the football field where something was clearly happening.

"I know you're here somewhere, Phantom." The man's shout reached all the way to them with a sort of echo quality like he was yelling through a microphone. "If you don't want to watch me tear apart all of these innocent people, I suggest you come out now."

"Skulker," Danny growled, recognizing the voice immediately. He took a step toward the football field when Vlad grabbed his arm again.

"Don't rush so blindly into a fight," Vlad warned with a severe look.

"I know how to fight." Danny stormed away from him, racing toward the football field. Anger pumped through his veins as he ground his teeth, wishing he never followed Clockwork's advice to seek out Vlad. Thankfully the green light that appeared after his encounter with Clockwork faded away when he left Vlad's domain. What did Clockwork even expect Vlad to teach him? He already fought against viruses for a full three years without anyone's help. Why did he need to rely on anyone now?

He knew the reason, as much as he didn't want to admit it, especially to the likes of Vlad. Viruses were getting stronger, even being able to hop out of the NetZone. Meanwhile, Danny was still at the same level he started at, not growing any stronger since that first year when his powers seemed all over the place and frequently acted up, threatening to reveal the truth to everyone at the most inconvenient of times. He knew he needed someone to train him, help him become stronger so that he could beat the viruses, but he didn't want that someone to be Vlad.

When he arrived back at the football field, the crowd was in a panic, people scrambling to flee the scene. An explosion rocked the ground when Skulker fired one of his missiles from the many weapons that appeared out of his metal suit. The people running away that spotted him quickly cleared a path as Phantom ran toward the field where Skulker stood. Another missile took aim at the dispersing crowd. Danny fired off an energy ball that caused the missile to explode in mid air when the two projectiles collided. His gaze darted swiftly around, seeking his parents among the crowd. He needed to get Skulker back into the NetZone not only to avoid any damage to the school's football field, but to avoid being captured by his parents. When he didn't spot them right away, he hoped that meant they would be delayed getting weapons from the assault vehicle, giving him enough time to force Skulker back into the NetZone.

Danny called up a ball of green energy in his hands as he neared Skulker. A smirk spread onto the metal face when Skulker spied his prey coming at him.

"Phantom, look out!"

Danny couldn't identify who shouted, though it sounded like a man. His attention was focused on the opponent before him. Skulker wore his usual haughty expression that suggested he knew his victory was imminent. Narrowing his green eyes, Danny was determined to wipe that grin from his face.

It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment Skulker stood before him as Danny threw the energy ball at him. In the next moment, a loud musical cord rang out over the football field. The sound wave slammed into him, shoving backward into the stands. Wooden boards smashed underneath him, and he was thankful that the fans cleared out of the bleachers beforehand. Sitting up as planks of wood fell off him, he rubbed at his head. His visor was broken in places again, he noticed, feeling like the thing was fairly useless at this point when it neglected to warn him about incoming attacks.

What was that attack anyway? He couldn't remember Skulker ever being able to do something like that in the past. Was that another new ability that he developed? Danny glared toward his opponent, frustrated with the obvious proof of the growing distances in his strength compared to Skulker. If he couldn't get stronger soon, the viruses would wipe the floor with him in fights. Not that he was doing all that well at the moment.

The female virus with Skulker wasn't one that Danny ever saw or ran into during prior fights. She looked like some rock star out of the eighties with the way she dressed and the strange eye makeup under her vibrant green eyes. Her blue hair was fiery like the green Mohawk that Skulker had. Distantly, Danny wondered if they were a couple, and if they were, that was the strangest coupling he could think of.

Shields went up around the viruses when bursts of green screamed through the air toward them. Danny snapped his gaze around and almost groaned when he found his parents returned to the scene. He scrambled to his feet, doubting his parents would be able to defeat both viruses working together. When did viruses team up anyway? The only team that he could think of was Johnny 13 with his shadow. Kitty was often around him, but she was simply a program and couldn't fight.

Danny took a step toward the football field when something pressed against his temple. His eyes darted toward the side, and he gulped when he spotted one of the Guys in White agents standing next to him with a pistol size gun directed at his head. He could understand his parents arriving quickly because they were at the game to begin with, but Danny struggled to understand how a GIW agent reached the site of a virus attack mere minutes after Skulker and his buddy appeared. The GIW tended to come toward the end of the fight from his past experiences, not being the quickest to track down viruses.

"Don't even think about moving, you vile virus," the agent ordered, his pistol whirring as it charged.

Danny twisted about toward the agent, throwing up shields of translucent green screens before him for protection. He focused his attention on maintaining them, though they flickered, not quite as stable as he would like. When the weapon fired, the blast smashed through the shield, shattering the feeble attempt to protect himself. Danny barely dodged the bullet in time, wincing when he felt it tear through his side. He aimed an energy ball near where the agent stood, sending up bits of splintered wood from the bleachers to distract the tall, fuzzy haired man. With the agent being human, Danny didn't want to directly hit the man and potentially harm him. The agent covered his head with his arms to block any debris that flew at his face.

Danny used that opportunity to put distance between him and the man. His gaze darted toward his parents to see how they were faring against the duo of viruses. Their attacks were failing to get past the quick shields that Skulker erected while his parents kept having to dodge Skulker's missiles and the female virus' sound waves that came from the guitar she held. A streak of white passing far too closely to his face jerked his attention back to his current opponent. The agent recovered and fired multiple shots at the digital being before him. Danny raised shield after shield to block each bullet that tried to tear into him like that first one. He hated fighting against the GIW because he didn't want to hurt them, but they were persistent in trying to capture him, much like his parents.

The agent flipped a switch on his gun, and the parts of it started to shift, building off the pistol and changing it into a much bigger weapon. Danny gulped as the white glow from the barrel of the gun glared right into him. His shields did very little to protect him against the bullets. This larger firearm looked like it would blast out a much more powerful projectile. He jumped back the second he saw the burst fired from the gun, the agent jerking back a step in the recoil. The shot missed him, but the impact of the white blast hitting the ground and destroying more of the bleachers blew Danny backward. He tried to use his flying to better control his flight pattern, but it proved to be a useless attempt when he crashed through the bleachers, tearing through the wooden stands. He could tell already that he would be hurting tomorrow, and not simply from the graze of the bullet to his right side.

"Get off!"

The shout came from under him, and Danny hurriedly got back to his feet. Twisting around, he cringed when he saw Valerie with a bloody gash down her left leg. She was obviously grinding her teeth to keep from yelling or crying from the pain as her angry green eyes pinned a glare on him. Danny didn't think this night could get any worse.

After a quick glance over his shoulder to check where the GIW agent was, Danny held out a hand to the woman. Why was Valerie even still here? Everyone else ran away from the football field the moment the viruses showed up. Almost everyone anyway. During a quick glance around, he noticed a few other people lingered behind to watch the fights that were taking place. Danny groaned internally at that fact. He wasn't exactly at top form tonight with the way he kept getting knocked around by virus and agent alike.

"I don't need _your_ help," Valerie growled as she tried to push herself to her feet without accepting his hand. The bitterness in her voice set him back, and Danny blinked in surprise at her. He knew that Valerie disliked him as Fenton, but he couldn't think of a reason for why she would hate Phantom. It was a struggle for her to get up, her injured leg wanting to give out as she slowly rose to a standing position.

"Step away from her," ordered the agent when he finally reached them.

Danny cursed inwardly as he spun around to face the man. In wanting to make sure that Valerie was all right, he gave the fuzzy haired man the chance to get close to him again. "You shoot at me, you'll hurt her too," Danny told the agent, gesturing with an arm toward Valerie. The blast from the large weapon was too powerful, and if the man was dumb enough to actually shoot at him again, Valerie would take more damage than a gash on the leg.

"Thanks for your concern." Valerie's words were the last thing he heard before something hard slammed into the back of his head. Danny pitched forward as his eyes rolled back in their sockets.


	18. Chapter 18

"Forget about the - Danny!" Tucker huffed as Danny continued moving along the row, completely ignoring his friend's shout. He made a face, frowning, as he turned toward Sam. "We just made a touchdown, and Danny's only think about snacks?"

"Don't look at me," Sam said, shrugging. "I still think it's ridiculous being dragged out to watch this when it's this cold out." She hugged her coat closer about her body and shivered.

"Says the person that drives her car with the top down." Tucker stared flatly at his friend, but as his mind turned back to Danny, he frowned even more. Danny was usually all into the game, cheering like crazy when the team scored a touchdown. Maybe Tucker only saw his friend's response as strange because of that conversation earlier in the week that he had with Sam. Tucker dropped his chin into his hand as he stared down at the field. Was Danny really hiding something from them?

A sudden popping noise made him jerk, his gaze snapping toward the end of the field where the lights blew. Sparks showered the field, and the players closest to the end zone backed away quickly to avoid being struck by them. Gasps raced through the stands as the other lights burst with a chorus of loud pops. His head twisted so sharply toward his friend that Tucker thought his neck might have broke in the process. He rubbed absently at the back of his neck as he shared a look with Sam.

"Virus," Sam said and was on her feet in a flash, shoving her way through the row of fans.

Tucker was quick to follow, stumbling and tripping over the other people in the row. He mumbled apologies as the people he stepped on glared at him as he passed. They were barely halfway down the bleachers before the scream rang out, making them halt. Gazes turning toward the field, they both watched as the virus descended onto the field, fire spitting out of the jetpack strapped to its back. It wasn't completely unfamiliar to them since Skulker was one of the most common viruses that Phantom fought over the past three years. The way the virus kept hunting after Phantom made Tucker shudder at the disturbing implications, and he didn't want to think too hard about all the times Skulker shouted about mounting Phantom.

Skulker dropped to the middle of the football field, and even from the distance, Tucker could see the gleam of a smirk upon his metal face. The players still on the field swiftly stumbled away from the virus with the fiery green Mohawk. No one in their right mind wanted to stick around after the appearance of a virus manifesting a physical form outside the NetZone. The crowd of panicked fans rushed like a swarm to escape the area before the virus could attack. Tucker snatched hold of Sam's hand in a tight grip as they got swept along with the crowd, all the pushing and shoving almost making him lose his hold on her hand. When he caught a flash of white through the dense throng of people, Tucker followed it, watching the Phantom program racing toward the field to deal with the virus attack. In his distraction, he miscalculated his step and tripped over someone else's foot. He went down, knocking Sam to the ground too. The people around them didn't give much notice to the fact that they fell as they continued stampeding away from the field. Tucker crawled over to cover Sam, protecting her from being stomped on by the passing sea of people.

An explosion came from somewhere in the direction of the football field, and some of the fleeing people screamed at the noise. When the crowd thinned, Tucker twisted around to check what was happening, spying Phantom racing toward Skulker with one of his green energy balls already prepared for an attack. Tucker climbed off Sam, getting to his feet and offering her a hand to help her up from the ground.

"Phantom, look out!"

Both of them turned at the shout, the voice sounding familiar. Tucker was surprised to see Dash, Kwan, and Paulina still near to the field, though the A lists were wise enough to keep their distance to avoid being in the way of the fight. Skulker's projectiles could be dangerous, but from that distance, Tucker thought the three of them would have enough time to get out of the way. Somewhere in his mind, he recognized that Dash was the one to shout the warning for Phantom.

Warning? Tucker blinked in confusion. At the tight grip on his arm, he turned back to where Phantom faced off against Skulker. With a start, he realized that Skulker didn't come alone. On a red plate of energy above Skulker, another virus stood, her hand already swinging downward to strum out a chord upon the guitar she held. If she wasn't a virus, Tucker might have thought she looked kind of cool with the eighties rocker theme that she had going. The sound wave struck Phantom, sending him flying back into the stands where he crashed painfully with the wooden bleachers. Tucker winced, imagining how much that probably hurt.

"Tucker!" Sam slapped him on the shoulder.

"Ow!" Tucker rubbed at the spot where she struck him as he frowned at her. "What was that for? I didn't even say anything about you having some weird crush on a program!" He yelped again when Sam punched him even harder in the shoulder.

"That's not why I hit you." Sam's violet eyes narrowed furiously at him for the comment.

Tucker bit the inside of his cheek to stop from grinning when he caught the soft pink trying to spread across her cheeks. "Then why did you hit me?" He frowned at her, his attention straying briefly back to the fight taking place on the football field. Almost everyone else dispersed by this point. Danny parents arrived with weapons in hand to fight the viruses, though things weren't going in their favor at this point. But when he found Phantom again, Tucker felt a surge of panic as he watched the program facing off against one of the Guys in White agents. It didn't look like things were going well for the rogue program either.

Sam sighed, dropping her head into her hand. "Did you forget about what we talked about already? I swear sometimes, if I wasn't here, you and Danny would be hopelessly lost."

"Hey!" Tucker protested, feeling offended by that comment. He knew he could be a little absent minded sometimes, and he came off like the comic relief on occasion. Okay, maybe more than just on a occasion. But he didn't like all the seriousness that went on sometimes and couldn't resist cracking a joke to try and add some levity to an otherwise stressful situation. He didn't understand why anyone would want to have a gloomy outlook on life all the time since it sounded like a tiring and depressing act to keep up forever. He guessed that was merely another point on which he and Sam would forever disagree. The Goth thing never made sense to him, though it seemed to work well for his friend.

Sam growled out like she couldn't believe how dense her friend was being. "This is the perfect opportunity for you to get a lock on Phantom," she explained in a rather strained voice, resisting the urge to shout at him. "Then we can figure out a way to meet up with him later.

Tucker blinked at her before his eyes grew wide with that realization. He rustled through his things until he found his trusty PDA, his baby, the piece of tech that he always kept close. Maybe he did have some sort of pathetic obsession with technology, but it was the only thing that seemed to understand him beyond his best friends. He always had an interest in technology, ever since he was a little kid and his father bought him his first computer. A smile tugged at his mouth when he recalled his father's reaction after he came home from work and found his son dismantled part of the computer in the attempt to understand how it worked. At that time, of course, Tucker didn't really know much about what he was doing and poor machine suffered the consequences of his poor attempts to figure out how it was put together. After that, it was many years before he was allowed to handle any bit of technology without his parents' supervision to make sure he didn't destroy anything else. He still enjoyed tinkering with all the tech he owned.

Focusing his attention on the PDA, Tucker quickly tapped through things on the screen with his stylus while Sam stood beside him, impatiently tapping her heavy booted foot upon the ground. "That's not helping this go any faster," Tucker complained, shooting a quick glare at her. A frown settled onto his face as he examined things. The two viruses, Skulker and that strange female one, showed up quickly, their coding displayed for him to read as easily as an open book. He toyed with his PDA for a while longer, his frown growing deeper.

"Dash!" Paulina shouted suddenly

Neither Tucker nor Sam reacted in time to understand what the popular woman was yelling about until they were both slammed into by much larger bodies. A roar of noise filled his ears as dirty rained over him. Tucker lay stunned under the football player, breathless after being crushed between the other man and the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Dash demanded, and Tucker managed to turn his head to watch as the blond man climbed off Sam, who looked as stunned as he felt.

"Oh, thank god!" Paulina breathed out in relief with a hand over her chest.

Tucker tilted his head back to look up at her until he was yanked up to his feet. "What just happened?" he asked, glancing around at the three A lists before turning his confused gaze onto Sam. "Did we really just get saved by the jer- er, jocks?" He cringed, hoping that little slip didn't earn him a punch from either of the two jocks.

"I know we don't exactly get along," Paulina said, folding her arms.

"Because you're shallow," Sam shot back as she glared at the other woman. Their eyes met with an almost electric spark of hatred passing between them.

"What Paulina meant," Kwan cut in, placing himself between the two women to block their view of each other, "is that we might be of different social statuses in school, but that doesn't mean we want to stand by and watch while someone we know gets hurt by some stupid virus. What if that attack had killed you?"

"Neither of you were even paying attention to what was happening." Dash folded his arms, his shoulders looking several times larger with the football pads under his uniform. "Is your stupid PDA really more important than your lives?"

"We were trying to do something," Sam said as she glared darkly at the jock, not in the slightest bit intimidated by Dash. She never was all that frightened of him, even when they were children. There was one time when Dash knocked out one of Danny's teeth when they were rough housing, and Sam later shoved Dash face first into the sandbox. "But I'm sure it's far too complicated for your pea sized brain to understand."

"Dash is _not_ stupid," Paulina argued with a fierce glare at Sam.

"Sure." Sam rolled violet eyes as she nodded sarcastically. "Just like you're not completely superficial." The two women looked like they were seconds from trying to claw each other's eyes out until Kwan stepped in.

"Maybe we should move away from the zone of destruction," suggested the dark haired jock, already pushing the two "losers" toward a much safer location, out of range of any more missiles or other projectiles.

"Now what exactly where you doing with this stupid thing?" Dash questioned as he ripped the PDA from Tucker's hands. He looked it over but, not surprisingly, didn't seem to have any understanding of what was displayed on the screen.

"I was trying to get a lock on Phantom's coding," Tucker answered, reaching for his PDA, but Kwan grabbed it before Tucker could.

"You can do something like that?" Paulina suddenly became very interested in the topic of conversation.

"Of course he can." Sam scowled at other woman, and Tucker rolled his eyes at the two of them.

"Well, I tried." Tucker frowned as he folded his arms. He was trying to work out that problem when they were tackled by the muscle bound jocks.

"This coding doesn't even make sense," Kwan said, his mouth thinning as he reviewed what was displayed on the PDA.

"That's because you don't know anything." Tucker reached for the PDA, but the jock held it up out of his reach.

Paulina stamped her foot angrily on the ground. "Stop calling them stupid!" Her hands were on her hips as she glared furiously at Tucker. "You're the one that doesn't know anything."

Tucker blinked at her, taken aback by her reaction. He wasn't the only one that poked fun at the jocks' intelligence, implying their lack of brains. Practically everyone in the school thought of the jocks as nothing but muscles, jerks that harassed the less popular and bullied the nerds into doing their homework so that they could maintain passing grades and stay on the team. But then he realized that, of course, Paulina would step in to defend others of the In crowd.

Sam kicked Kwan in the back of the knee, forcing him to drop as he released a shout of pain. She snatched the PDA out of his hand when it was within reach. Her action stunned Paulina and Dash, who didn't react fast enough as Sam grabbed Tucker by the arm and dragged him off at a sprint. Tucker stumbled at first but managed not to trip and fall flat on his face. They were lucky that they weren't that far off from the parking lot where Sam's convertible was. Or, he should say, he was lucky. Sam was a far better runner than he was. They quickly climbed into the car when they reached it.

"Drive, drive, drive!" Tucker urged, his heart hammering in his chest with the fear that the jocks would be upon them any moment in a rage and out for vengeance.

"Did you get anything about Phantom?" Sam asked, dumping the PDA in Tucker's lap as she peeled out of the parking lot. Thankfully, he didn't see any of the A lists coming after them.

Tucker sighed as he slumped down in the passenger's seat. "No," he muttered in disappointment as he looked over the data on his PDA. "Phantom's coding makes zero sense. I could barely even pick it up at first. I don't understand what the person was thinking when they created the Phantom program." That was assuming he was actually coded by someone, of course. Tucker frowned as that thought rattled through his brain. What if Phantom wasn't actually designed by someone? He scratched at the back of his head, wondering how Phantom could have come about if that turned out to be true.


	19. Chapter 19

Vlad ground his teeth hard as he watched the young man race off in his digital form. He could easily have ignored all of this, let Daniel flounder, but recalling the mention of Clockwork, Vlad assumed that it might be in his best interest to do as Clockwork wanted. He didn't have many reasons to encounter that particular program, but whenever Clockwork saw fit to grace him with his presence, it was usually because he needed something to happen in a certain manner to protect the NetZone. Clockwork obviously wanted Daniel to improve his skills for some reason, otherwise he would have left the young man to his fate in the under level of the NetZone.

But that blasted hero complex of his was bound to get Daniel in serious trouble one of these days. Vlad worried that today would be that day. Daniel ran blindly into battle with a virus, ignoring the fact that his parents were present with weapons not far out of reach. He watched the progress of his old college friends in their research on viruses and their weapons to combat the threat and their attempts to secure one to study the strange phenomenon of viruses possessing humanoid forms, as they hypothesized back in college. Jack and Maddie failed so far to acquire a virus to experiment on, but that didn't mean they wouldn't succeed at some point. If he wasn't careful, Daniel might wind up as his parents very first test subject.

Vlad's hands curled at his sides as he decided he certainly couldn't allow that to happen. Perhaps he had little reason to care for the young man, but he wouldn't wish that fate upon him, being poked and prodded, cut open and dissected by his very own parents in their thirst for knowledge and understanding. It was too cruel, and he wouldn't allow it. Even if Daniel was acting like a thorn in his side. Vlad saw no reason to be gentle about the truth of what they were when Daniel first came to him. The cold hard truth would make itself known in a matter of years when Daniel's existence outside the NetZone began to deteriorate. At least now, Daniel had some forewarning, even if he refused to believe it.

Switching to his digital form, Vlad kept to the shadows as he headed around the football field, keeping out of sight of the fleeing fans. Luckily, in the shadows, none of them noticed the silver haired man or even glanced his way when he transformed. If they spotted him, they likely would assume that he was simply another virus popping out of the NetZone to join the fight taking place on the field. Vlad had no intention of participating in a pointless battle unless his hand was forced. Daniel could play the foolish role of hero all he liked, but Vlad saw it as a meaningless venture, despite any noble ideas behind fighting off the viruses. Humans continued to create new viruses all the time, greedy to steal the information from other people, using that knowledge to steal identities and empty bank accounts. Even blackmail could be considered an excuse for hacking into another person's computer.

Sounds of actions reached his ears as he neared the field, a hard musical chord making him wince. Vlad pondered that as he moved to better view the fight. If nothing else, this battle would give him the chance to see Daniel in action and determine where the young man was at in terms of teaching him. He stood by the stands, arms folding as he observed what was taking place on the field before him.

Jack and Maddie were tangled up fighting against a duo of viruses. Male and female. Vlad assumed the male to be the one that Daniel referred to as Skulker, also recalling the male's shout that prompted the growl from the young man. Skulker was quite adept at using his energy to create shields that blocked the humans' attacks on them, allowing him to then fire off missiles from his robotic form. The female virus used her guitar to fire blasts of sound at Jack and Maddie. Her attacks came in spirals and fists of energy that slammed into the ground, gouging out chunks in the field.

But his attention strayed away from them to across the field where Daniel crashed into the stands, tearing apart the lower section of the bleachers. Vlad frowned as he watched the young man facing off against one of the Guys in White agents. Daniel clearly didn't want to endanger or harm other humans in his fight against viruses, despite that his recklessness as "hero" often caused destruction from what Vlad saw when he investigated Daniel's actions as Phantom. Vlad consider the young man lucky to have not seriously injured anyone during his battles.

What concerned Vlad about what he witnessed in the fight was Daniel's shields. The young man could construct them readily enough, but they were weak, feeble, easily shattered with a single blow. Daniel would never survive if he couldn't protect himself. Red eyes narrowed as he watched a stronger blast throw Daniel back, crashing through the stands. Watching this fight made it quite clear to him that Clockwork was indeed right about Daniel needing someone to train him. Vlad could teach him many more things that the young man probably hadn't even discovered he was capable of doing. His mouth thinned as he remembered the main problem with the whole arrangement: Daniel refused to accept the truth about his condition. Unless he started to spend the majority of his time within the NetZone, Daniel would continue to grow weaker and the viruses would quickly overwhelm him.

Vlad started across the field, cape flowing behind him as he watched the agent approaching Daniel, who was distracted by a woman - Valerie Gray, he noted when he neared them - that appeared to be injured after Daniel slammed into her. Stray attacks that came his way were easily blocked by pink hexagonal shields that he erected with little thought as he stormed toward the young man. Everyone else was too involved in their own fights to give him any notice. Whatever happened to the two viruses was of little concern to him, though Vlad almost hoped Jack and Maddie would catch them to keep his old college friends distracted for some time. Then they might not notice their son's absence right away.

He almost halted when he watched Valerie bend down to pick up a splintered board from the wreckage of the bleachers. Did Daniel know nothing about being aware of his surroundings? Vlad ground his teeth when Valerie swung the board, smashing it against Daniel's head with enough force the break the wooden piece. Daniel was dropping with the agent ready to catch hold of him, to carry the Phantom program back to the GIW headquarters where they could lock Daniel up and examine him at their leisure.

_That_ Vlad couldn't allow any more than letting Daniel be caught by his parents. He doubted the GIW would care, and less likely to believe, that Phantom was born of a human. They were digital beings now, but that didn't erase the humanity that they both held onto even after the accidents that turned them into something beyond human. And if the GIW learned the truth? Vlad dreaded to think what they would do with that knowledge. Thoughts of recreating the accidents that gave Vlad and Daniel their powers danced in his mind. They could create an army of digital beings to combat the viruses.

Or they could massacre a slew of people in their attempts to make someone else like Phantom. Vlad refused to let any more people suffer the same fate as him and Daniel.

Red energy burst from his hand, slamming into the agent and forcing him crashing back into the bleachers, or what remained of them. Valerie stumbled back, falling to the ground when the attack streaked past. Her green eyes turned up to stare at Vlad as he reached them, towering over her. She gulped, but to his surprise, she refused to look afraid of him. Eyes narrowed, watching his movements as he bent down to pick up the limp form of Phantom. The young woman was apparently much stronger than she appeared if she could knock Daniel out in one blow. She reminded him of Maddie in some ways. That fierce glare despite any fear curling inside her. Vlad still remembered the time that Maddie decked one of the football jocks in college when they were teasing him and Jack. That jock sported a black eye for a week after that encounter and kept his distance.

"I'll give you some advice, child," Vlad said as he stared down at her. The agent was already climbing out of the ruin of the bleachers, so Vlad decided to make it quick. "Don't get yourself tangled up fighting viruses." He didn't miss her eyes narrowing a fraction more and felt certain she would ignore his warning. His jaw clenched as he wondered what was wrong with teenagers these days, ignoring every bit of advice those that were older, wiser, and more experienced told them.

His red eyes turned onto the agent with his shades dangling from one ear. His time was up, and not simply because the agent was reaching for his weapon. Daniel was injured, his right side bleeding where a bullet grazed him. They needed to return to the NetZone so that Vlad could tend to the injury. He scanned the area quickly through his visor and found an access point to the NetZone not too far from where he stood. That was the convenient thing about the world: there was usually always an access point within a few feet.

Vlad darted toward it, his foot leaving the ground seconds before a white burst from the GIW agent's gun pierced through the soil. He didn't slow down for even a second as the agent followed, shooting at him in repeated fire. His shields came up quickly to protect his rear, the bullets ricocheting off the pink translucent energy. When he reached the access point, he heard a frustrated growl behind him before he passed through into the NetZone.

It wasn't safe here. If those two viruses returned to the NetZone, they would arrive close to this area and likely take advantage of Daniel's injured and unconscious state. Vlad knelt on the ground as he looked over the wound on Daniel's right side. It didn't look too bad. The bullet grazing him damaged some of the coding of his digital makeup, but it wasn't something that Vlad couldn't fix. Adjusting his hold on the young man, he touched his hand to the bleeding side. A holograph appeared over Daniel, showing a scramble of data.

Vlad frowned as he glanced around, making certain that no viruses were in the area. It seemed quiet in this section of the NetZone, but he didn't feel very safe about that fact. His concentration would be on Daniel, leaving him wide open for attack should a virus appear. Placing two fingers into his mouth, Vlad whistled and almost instantly Cujo appeared, materializing from the watch that Daniel kept on his person in his human form.

"Keep watch," Vlad instructed, and Cujo barked in response. The small green dog shifted into a much larger form as he turned around, growling at the emptiness of the area as he searched for any signs of a virus coming to attack them. Vlad was quite proud of Cujo, who never failed him when it came to keeping viruses out of his domain, part of the reason it was difficult for him to send the dog to watch over Daniel.

Thinking of the young man brought Vlad's attention back to the situation at hand. He poked at the holograph in front of him, reorganizing the scattered data into something that made sense again. As he worked, Daniel's injury slowly knitted back together, sealing off his flesh like he was never shot. The black siding of his costume reformed where it was torn. Cujo growled, a deep rumbling sound, right as Vlad put the finishing touches on Daniel's coding. Snapping his head up, he frowned when he spied the two viruses that were fighting on the football field. He tensed, red eyes glaring at them.

After he rested Daniel gently down on the ground, Vlad stood, calling up energy that spread out from his clenched hand, lengthening and shaping into a sword. Cujo remained at Daniel's side to keep guard over his unconscious body.

"So now Phantom's got himself a bodyguard," the male virus said with a haughty smirk.

"He's a brat, but I'm afraid if you try to touch him, I'll be forced to stop you," Vlad said in a steely cold voice as he held his sword up in preparation to fight. He grew quite skilled with a blade over his years of training to utilize his abilities.

The male virus snorted in amusement. "Well, most young looking programs and viruses like him tend to be brats."

The woman at his side, who looked around the same age in appearance to Daniel, frowned darkly at the comment. Swinging around her guitar, she smashed the body of it right into his face. The male virus flew back slamming into the ground several feet away from them. The body of the guitar smashed into the ground with enough force to almost crack it. She leaned on the instrument, folding her arms on the head of it as she glared at the male virus.

"You're lucky this wasn't a date," she announced in annoyance. "Because if it was, I can assure you being called a brat is a real turn off. And trust me, I would have done a lot more than that." She picked up her guitar, slinging the strap over her shoulder. Her vibrant green eyes flicked toward Vlad then Daniel and she smirked. "Enjoy your time with the dipstick while you can." She gave a two finger salute before she walked off, leaving Vlad feeling more than a little confused at the whole exchange.

The male virus grumbled as he sat up, rubbing at his metal face where he was struck with the guitar. "I'll never understand that woman," he groused.

Vlad stared dully, uncertain if what took place really happened. If these fools were Daniel's average opponents that he struggled with, then Vlad had his work cut out for him in training the young man. Dispelling the sword, he walked back over to where he left Daniel and lifted the unconscious form into his arms. Until he awoke, Daniel would be much safer kept within Vlad's domain. He glanced over his shoulder frequently to check if the male virus trailed after them, but with Cujo at his back, it seemed unlikely that the virus would want to tangle with the security program.

Thankfully, Vlad wasn't harassed by any program or virus along the way to his domain. At the familiar wall, he typed in the password to allow him entry. As soon as the door opened, Cujo shrank down to his puppy size and bounded happily into what was his home since the beginning of his creation. Vlad sighed as he thought of how this next part - he glanced at Daniel - next two parts would go. He followed the security program into his domain, the firewall sealing behind him.

Vlad ignored the hiss as he walked over to the reconstructed desk set up in his domain to lay Daniel's body upon it. Cujo barked as he gave chase to the cat that guarded Vlad's home while he went to visit the Fentons. The cat was white, female, and just as capable a security program as Cujo. In her current form, she was small and sleek, though at the moment her tail puffed out in her fright of being chased by the green dog.

"Stop!" Vlad shouted, not taking his focus away from the screen he brought up from the desk. At the loud, commanding voice, both cat and dog screeched to a halt and stared at their creator. "You are to get along, or I'll make you regret it." From the silence, he assumed his threat to have worked quite well. Tapping at the screen, he reconfigured the desk into a bed, making it soft and malleable instead of hard and unforgiving. All that was left then was to await the young man awakening.


	20. Chapter 20

Kwan climbed back to his feet, rubbing at the back of his knee where Manson kicked him. If she ever played sports, she would make one heck of a kicker for football. Even soccer would be a good choice after a powerful swing of her foot like that one. Paulina held Dash back from chasing after the two friends for Sam's attack on his best friend.

"Just let them go," Paulina said with her hands placed on Dash's chest, standing her ground firmly. "There's no point chasing after those losers." Dash glowered, still looking ready to get pay back for Manson kicking Kwan, but he relented, folding his arms grumpily over his chest.

Kwan smirked to himself when he thought about the fact that if Fenton were with the group, then Dash would be far less eager to get any sort of vengeance on the Goth. "Yeah, besides, I don't think you'll win anyone's heart by beating up their friends." He grinned wider when Dash's snapped furious blue eyes at him.

"And after those strings I pulled to make sure he'd be in our group." Paulina folded her arms with a disappointed frown. "And you didn't even use that to your advantage!"

Dash scowled. "I really hate you two sometimes," he muttered, his mouth thinning. "And how could have used that to my advantage? I had you two idiots in the way."

"Don't blame us because you're too much of a chicken to confess to him." Paulina rolled her emerald eyes, not cowed in the slightest bit by the jock's glaring.

Kwan watched the exchange in amusement. He and Paulina were quick to pick up on Dash's developing crush on a certain blue eyed loser. Dash denied it for all he was worth when they confronted him about it. But after weeks of pestering him, Dash finally caved and told them about his feelings for Fenton. Kwan grinned to himself as he recalled that flush on his friend's cheeks, refusing to look at either Kwan or Paulina as he spilled the beans. Watching Dash moon over Fenton, though, only reminded Kwan that he didn't feel that way toward anyone. That outsider feeling struck him again as he stood off to the side while Paulina and Dash glared stubbornly at each other.

Kwan turned his gaze away from his friends, following the direction Manson and Foley raced off in, heading for the parking lot. Fenton mentioned that he would be rooting for the team at the game, that memory wiggling its way into his mind as Kwan frowned. Fenton always stuck close to his two friends, which left Kwan wondering why he wasn't with them like always. He scratched the back of his head as he pondered over that little mystery. From the fight going on against the viruses, Fenton's parents obviously attended the game tonight, but Kwan doubted Fenton would sit with his parents and suffer the resulting embarrassment. Fenton would have immediately sneaked off to join his friends.

"What did you get from the geek?" Dash asked, tearing Kwan out of his current puzzle.

"You said the coding didn't make sense," Paulina prompted when Kwan stared at the blond jock in confusion.

"Oh," Kwan mumbled as he frowned and folded his arms. "That's because it didn't make any sense. It was completely unintelligible, and I don't know how anyone could have come up with anything like that." His aqua green eyes slid toward Dash. "Think you can write it all out for me? I want to examine a bit more closely."

"You could have done that if you didn't let that stupid-" Dash cringed when Paulina glared at him. "Yeah, yeah," he sighed. "All up in here." He tapped at his temple with his index finger.

"I guess that photographic memory really does come in handy for more than just getting good grades." Paulina smirked as she hugged her arms around her body, shivering lightly in the cold. Wearing only her cheerleading outfit left her exposed to the chill in the late November night air. December was right around the corner, which meant they would probably get snow in a few weeks if the temperature continued its steady drop.

Kwan would have offered her something to cover up, but he only had his uniform, his jersey covered in dirt and grass stains. It wouldn't provide her with much warmth either. When the viruses suddenly attacked, they didn't stop to think about grabbing their things. Paulina's jacket was still back by their team's bench, which probably got destroyed in the fight. He turned his gaze back to the football field, thinking it was probably a good thing that this was their last game of the season. It would probably end up being rescheduled now, because of the attack, which meant they would probably get stuck having to play at West Elmerton instead.

"It has it's uses." Dash shrugged, only really using his photographic memory for his art. Kwan always found that fascinating, how Dash could watch one of Phantom's fights then draw it out almost exactly blow for blow in his comics. Of course, his friend made a few changes here and there for the purposes of the overall plot to the comic that he posted on the website that Kwan helped him create.

"Let's get out of here," Kwan suggested, pushing his friends toward the parking lot after he spied someone walking toward them from the football field.

"What's the- oh," Paulina said with a frown when she spotted what prompted her friend's sudden urging to get out of there. Worry passed through her emerald eyes while Dash's gaze narrowed as he glanced back over his shoulder. Despite all his attempts to keep his family situation quiet from the rest of the school, Dash and Paulina uncovered the truth around fifth grade when they came to visit his house. Kwan winced at the memory of that when his mother flew into a rage after Dash accidentally broke one of the plates from her wedding china. That was the last time either of them dared to come over to Kwan's house, but that event also signaled the start of their worried glances and constant checks to make sure their friend was okay.

"Kwan, wait up!" Jing called, and Kwan gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stop walking.

"Dude, you don't have to do what he says," Dash whispered as he glared over his friend's shoulder as the other man approached them. Even Paulina, who only really ever got angry around Sam, flashed her emerald eyes furiously in the direct of Kwan's brother.

Shaking his head, Kwan turned his two friends toward the parking lot. "Just go on without me. Once you've written down everything from Foley's PDA, send it to me." Then he turned around to face his brother, his nose wrinkling at the sight of the white suit he wore. When he didn't hear footsteps, he realized that neither of his friends dared to leave him.

An eyebrow lifted as his brother stared past him toward the other two teenagers. "You three didn't get caught up in the fight, right?" Jing frowned as he looked over the three teenagers like he expected find them bleeding to death from fatal injury.

"We're not idiots," Dash responded first in a biting tone. "We kept out of the way."

Jing nodded before his gaze found his brother again. "I'll drive you all home then."

"Don't bother. I've got my car. We don't need anything from you." Dash grabbed his friend by the arm, but Kwan didn't budge when the other jock pulled toward the parking lot. Kwan didn't like that look in his brother's eyes.

Jing's hand landed heavily on Kwan's shoulder. "Our parents will be waiting for us," he announced, gazing past his brother like he wasn't standing before him. "You two should head home. Be careful. Those crazy Fentons let the viruses escape."

Kwan almost grinned smugly at that statement, knowing the escape of the viruses had to really sting for his brother, but he kept control of his expression, keeping it neutral. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Hesitation followed before Dash offered, "If you're sure, man." Footsteps faded away from them as Kwan stared at his brother. He already thought it was bad enough simply having Jing back in the house without his brother encroaching upon his social life. What he really wanted to do at that moment was investigate more thoroughly into that coding Foley got from the Phantom program, but he certainly couldn't say anything about that to his brother. His eyes narrowed at that glaring white suit that was no longer in its usual pristine condition.

Jing kept his hand on Kwan's shoulder as he directed his brother toward the car. "You played pretty well out there."

Kwan snorted. "You would have done better." He glanced back over his shoulder toward the football field where he could hear people's voices still. He thought most of the people fled at the start of the attack, leaving him to wonder who remained behind, other than the Fentons that he never saw pass them. Did Fenton go to join his parents at the start of the attack? That didn't seem likely in his mind since Fenton never appeared interested in taking after his parents as a Net Protector. Kwan dragged his gaze back to his brother. "Do you bring that ridiculous suit with your everywhere?"

"I must always be prepared to do my duty to protect the city," Jing stated in that irritatingly robotic voice like he was reciting word for word from a manual.

It was one of many reasons that Kwan couldn't figure out how to get along with his older brother. That stiff, constantly following every letter of the law to a T irked him. Jing simply came off as too perfect, insufferably, irritatingly, parents never shutting up about it perfect. Next to his brother, Kwan would forever be the useless one. The disappointment, the disgrace to the family name. Even when he was living in his own apartment, Jing's shadow hung about the house like an oppressive weight. Nothing Kwan could do would ever be good enough, would ever change the way their parents saw him. His hands clenched at his sides. He only had to make it until graduation. Then he could leave. Leave and never return. Sever the ties to his family.

Kwan climbed into the passenger's seat of his brother's car, which was a nice, expensive dark green sports car that their parents bought for Jing. It was just more proof of their parents' favoritism. Kwan slumped back against the seat, glaring out his side window as Jing pulled out of the parking spot. He should have gone with Dash. That thought danced repeatedly through his head, but Jing wore that look that he said he wasn't about to his little brother go off anywhere. It was that look he got when he wanted to talk. Kwan's lips pressed together in a tight line as he wondered what his brother wanted with him.

Silence grew between them, only adding to the irritation that Kwan felt. If Jing wanted to talk with him, why was he staying silent? Aqua green eyes flicked toward the other man in the car as they drove along the streets. Several times, he considered opening his mouth to question his brother, but his lips remained sealed together, unable to get out the simplest of words. That was the way it was between them. He could never get up the nerve to break the ice between them, despite the frustration that came in hand with the tense silence.

When the car final came to a stop, parking in one of the neatly painted lined slot, Kwan finally came back to his surroundings. He sat up in his seat and glanced around outside the window, staring at the almost too perfectly maintained parking garage. The white walls and pillars seemed virtually blinding even under the flicker of florescent lighting. It wasn't a place that Kwan recognized or ever came to before, but he had a dreadful inkling that he knew where his brother brought him. When the driver's side door slammed shut, Kwan made the effort not jump at the sudden noise that disrupted the silence. He did not want to get out of the car.

Jing walked around to the other side and rapped a knock on the passenger's side window. Kwan ignored him, refusing to open the door. When his brother knocked a little harder, he shook his head fervently in show of his unwillingness to get out of the car. Jing yanked the door open, and Kwan grabbed hold of the edge of his seat. But as with everything else, his brother had superior strength on his side and used it to drag Kwan from the car.

"What is the problem?" Jing demanded as he slammed the car door shut, taking no notice of his brother's tenseness.

"I'm not going in there," Kwan stated firmly with his arms folded.

"I have to get my report on the incident written up and turned in right away." Jing grabbed hold of Kwan's arm to pull him along, but Kwan refused to go.

"Then you do that. I'll just wait here in the car." Kwan already started to turn back to the car, but his brother kept a strong hold on him.

"Kwan, we need to talk."

"We can do that after you've done your stupid report."

Jing sighed as he walked around behind his brother. "Stop being a baby about this. Going inside isn't going to kill you." He placed his hands on Kwan's shoulders and pushed him along toward the entrance into the building despite Kwan's attempts to stop him. They struggled the whole way, but Jing, as usually, eventually won out and forced his brother into the headquarters.

Inside the building was no better, in Kwan's opinion, than the garage. Everything was sterile with cleanliness to the point that Kwan felt like a gross sponge of germs. Every person they passed glanced his ways, turning up their noses in disgust at his dirty football uniform. He should have at least removed his pads, but he didn't get much of a chance with his brother dragging him around by the arm.

When they reached an office, Jing shoved his brother inside, closing the door after them. Kwan pressed himself into a corner, trying to appear as small as possible in the room. There wasn't much to see in the room other than some computers monitoring activity on the NetZone and cabinets for filing.

"Didn't think you had a shift tonight," said the other man occupying the room as he spun away from a computer terminal. His head turned toward Kwan, and he lifted an eyebrow. "Don't tell me." He got up, laughing as he walked over to Kwan. "This is the little brother." He landed a hand on Kwan's head, ruffling his raven locks, which gained a glare from Kwan.

"Ever heard of tweezers?" Kwan grumbled as he slapped the hand away. "Because that unibrow could sure use some plucking."

"You two sure are a lot alike," the man said as he turned back to Jing, who already had out some papers and was filling out the report on the virus attack at the high school.

"We're nothing alike," Kwan muttered quietly through clenched teeth.

"Yes, this is my brother Kwan," Jing finally answered as he worked dutifully at filling out the paperwork. "Kwan, this is my partner Agent E."

Kwan groaned internally. Even their codenames sounded lame! He doubted he would ever understand why his brother was wasting his talents working for the Guys in White when he could accomplish so much more working under another group. The Fentons sprang first to his mind. They weren't exactly considered the best at protecting the town and the NetZone from virus attacks, but they were still far better than the GIW, in his mind. At least then his brother wouldn't be stuck wearing some ugly white suit all the time.

"Now, Kwan," Jing turned around in his seat to stare at his brother, "tell me what you were doing?"

"What?" His brow pinched in confusion as he frowned. Kwan eyed his brother with a certain amount of wariness.

"You tampered with the laptop at the high school before we confiscated it," Jing continued with a grave expression that made Kwan roll his eyes off to one side at that topic coming up again. "Now you linger at the scene during a virus attack. I understand you have a passing interest in computers, but you really shouldn't stick your nose into dangerous situations. You could have been hurt out there."

_Passing_ , Kwan's hands curled into fists as his jaw tightened, _interest?_ That only proved how little his brother really knew about him if he thought Kwan merely had a _passing interest_ in computers. "My apologies," Kwan grumbled, glaring off to the side of the room. "Next time I won't get in your way."

"What an obedient little brother you have," Agent E said as he leaned far too closely to Kwan, his head bowing enough for Kwan to see his green eyes over the shades that he wore.

"Kwan," Jing sighed, ignoring his partner, "I'm just worried about you. I don't want you getting hurt because of your foolishness."

"Oh, well, if that's all," Kwan shoved past Agent E, "I'll just go wait in the car." He slammed the door behind him after he left the office, not even listening for any sound of protest from his brother. As he walked through the halls, thankful that it was fairly straightforward from the office to the parking garage, he was overcome with the urge to rub his dirty jersey all over the walls and floors simply to annoy the GIW agents. Somehow, he resisted that desire, realizing it would only land him in more trouble with his parents when it got back to them somehow, like it always did.

Back in the parking garage, Kwan took a deep breath, though he still felt that skin crawling sensation about being at the GIW headquarters. His eyes fell onto his brother's car, and anger hummed through him. He wasn't going to sit around waiting for his brother. His feet carried him toward the exit of the garage. The streets were fairly quiet as he headed home, few cars passing him along the way. It took him nearly an hour to walk home from the GIW headquarters, and he wished more than ever that he had his own car by the time he entered the house. The sound from the den told him that his parents were busy watching the news, probably worrying about their precious Jing if the news reported on the virus attack at the football game.

Shaking his head, Kwan headed up to his bedroom as he peeled off his jersey and undid the straps of his pads to remove them. His uniform was dropped on the floor by the door of his room as he walked over to his closet to change into some casual clothes. While he was yanking his shirt over his head, a ding sounded from his computer. Curiously, Kwan wandered over to his desk and clicked on the mail icon. A grin stretched over his face as he noted that the message came from Dash. He opened it immediately, dropping into the chair at his desk. His eyes scanned over what Dash wrote in the body of the e-mail, displaying the coding that the blond jock recalled from Foley's PDA.

His mood lifted instantly as his fingers flew over the keyboard. There was definitely something about the coding, something vaguely familiar in the pattern as he stared at it after typing it all out into a program. The information twisted about the screen, so very different from anything that he ever saw in any other program or virus. He poked at it, prodding it to try to make some sense of it. The hours passed quickly as he tried to unravel this mysterious, the oddity that was Phantom's scrambled programming.

Kwan leaned back in his chair, rubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands as exhaustion swept through him. When he pulled his hands away, he held them up over his hand, barely registering the morning light that filtered through his window. What was it about the coding? He frowned as he twirled his fingers around each other. It was such a familiar pattern, but he was having trouble placing it. Twirling, spinning, two lines wrapping about each other. He nearly fell out of his chair when it hit him.

A double helix! DNA!

Kwan leaned forward again, staring at the screen. It was so obvious! How could he have missed it? But that made the whole thing even more confusing. Who would code a program based on something so _human_? It didn't make any sense. His mouth pulled downward as his eyes roamed over the swirling data. If Phantom was written up like a human, was that the answer to understanding him? Decoding his DNA? Cracking his knuckles, Kwan decided it was worth a try.


	21. Chapter 21

His brow scrunched up, his eyes clamping shut tighter in their refusal to open. His head was pounding, and he lifted a hand to rub at it, struggling to remember what happened. It was like the blow to his head knocked out a few of his memories. His green eyes cracked open at the thought of being struck in the head. Why would he have gotten hit in the head? And by whom? His head hurt trying to puzzle it all out.

Danny sat up suddenly, agony stabbing at his brain from jerking upright so swiftly. Groaning, he leaned forward, pressing the heels of his palms to his forehead right above his eyes and feeling the hard bone around his eye sockets digging into his hands. That Guys in White agent was in front of him, and Valerie was behind him. Danny's eyes opened wide as it came to him that Valerie was the one to strike him on the back of his head. His mind boggled over that fact. He understood that he didn't make the greatest impression on her by crashing into her and causing her injury. He was sorry about that! But he couldn't figure out why she would attack him like that.

He jerked his head up, eyes darting around the area as fear crept into him. His heart nearly stopped at the mere thought of being captured by the GIW. How could he be so foolish as to drop his guard and get knocked unconscious right in front of the GIW agent? _Idiot_ , his mind screamed at him as he took in his surroundings. Terrified thoughts of being trapped within the GIW headquarters circled his mind, his throat constricting to the point that he couldn't breathe. Then his eyes fell upon the familiar green dog that attacked him only days ago. The security program was curled around a grumpy looking white cat, the image making Danny raise an eyebrow at the pair of programs. He blinked at them.

"So you've woken up."

Danny snapped his head around to stare at the back of Vlad, who was apparently more interested in the data streaming through his screens than anything else. He glared at the other digital being, anger rising in him at the very sight of him. A sting wounded his pride, realizing that Vlad stepped in to rescue him from the GIW. Vlad saw him being weak. Danny ground his teeth at that fact. Turning away, he swung his legs over the edge of the desk and paused as a couple things struck him as odd. The first thought that came to him was the fact that the desk felt as soft as his bed at home. But that passing thought was overshadowed by the lack of any pain to his side. Dropping his gaze, Danny ran his hand over his right side, confused by the lack of any sign of injury. His costume in this form was completely mended like the GIW agent's bullet never sliced through it, never grazed his body. He could heal in time, but he doubted enough time passed since the attack at the football game.

Danny held a hand over his right side, still marveling over the fact that Vlad would even bother to heal him. He turned his head to glance over his shoulder, but Vlad still had his back to him. "You could have left me," he said, lowering his eyes.

"And leave you in the hands of the Guys in White?" Vlad snorted at the very suggestion. "While I might not have any great care what happens to you," his words made Danny wince, "I can't allow the Guys in White to have you. Not only would it endanger all the programs and viruses of the NetZone, but it would put myself in danger, and I certainly can't allow for something like that to happen."

Danny's mouth pulled into a thin line. Of course the only thing that Vlad cared about was his own skin. He wouldn't bother to save Danny if his capture didn't somehow affect Vlad. "Well," Danny got up from the desk turned bed, "don't feel obligated to help me again." He walked toward the firewall, and immediately the green dog was on his feet and bounding toward him. "You can call off your security program too." He didn't know what to think of everything. After the way he stormed out that first time and his rudeness toward the man when he visited the house, Danny really didn't see any reason why Vlad would ever want to help him, let alone save and heal him. Danny didn't want the help of a cruel liar anyway.

"Cujo will remain with you," Vlad stated, still refusing to even look at him. That fact for some bizarre reason stabbed at Danny, like the man thought he didn't even rank the smallest hint of acknowledgement.

Danny spun around, his green eyes narrowing in fury. "You don't need to keep watch on me. Clockwork can obviously foresee all possible outcomes." He saw a demonstration of that ability when Clockwork showed him examples of his own possible future. The ones where he had red eyes still worried him. "But clearly his suggestion for me to seek help from you wasn't his brightest idea. If all you're going to do is lie to me, then you're the worst choice for a teacher."

Vlad turned halfway as red eyes slid toward Danny. His expression was neutral, seeming unimpressed by Danny's angry rant. He watched in silence for a moment as Danny stood there, chest heaving with each huff of breath after he spat out each furious word. Vlad's eyes slipped shut briefly as he shook his head, like he was dealing with a stupid child that didn't know or understand anything, which only added to the anger Danny felt toward him.

"Don't confuse my words," Vlad said as he returned his gaze to Danny. "I have no personal interest in you." Danny didn't miss the tightening of Vlad's fist at his side. "But I trust in Clockwork. Whatever he sees coming in the future, he knows it requires you to become stronger, to learn more about what you're capable of. That is the reason he sent you to me. Because on your own, you've reached a plateau. You haven't managed to advanced past what I learned in my first year after my accident. We don't have to like each other. You don't even have to believe my so-called lies. But surely after that last fight, you have to realize that you are in serious need of help in your training." His eyes hardened as he stared at Danny. "You can't even manage a simple shield to protect yourself."

The words burned him, stabbing at him with the cold hard truth. His attempts at creating shields so far were feeble at best. Even the smallest attack broke through them. "I can figure it out on my own." Danny twisted about as he stomped toward the firewall, hands clenching painfully tight while he ground his teeth. He simply needed to dedicate more time to training his abilities, when he wasn't busy catching up on his homework. It was the weekend now. He could probably get away with spending a majority of his time over the next two days training.

"You still don't even know how to hack through my firewall to let yourself out." Vlad's voice held amusement as his footsteps approached where Danny stood before the wall that barred his way, yet again. When he came into view in the corner of Danny's eye, Vlad's expression didn't match with the amusement in his speech. A grim look pulled at his face, his red eyes blank behind the visor. "Apologize to your parents for me." He tapped out the code on the firewall to open it. "Business called and I had to return quickly to oversee an error made by some of my employees."

Danny hesitated when the door opened in the firewall. "They were really excited to hear from you again." He didn't know why that fact mattered at all to him. He didn't even like Vlad. But his parents did, and it seemed evident by their reaction to a simply, short message that they wanted Vlad back in their lives. It was... selfish, he decided, to deny his parents the joy of reconnecting with their friend merely because he had some secret spat with the man. "Why-" Danny frowned, struggling with his own thoughts. "Why didn't you ever respond to them before?"

There was an odd look in Vlad's eyes. Pain, regret, bitterness. They flickered through his eyes before Vlad scowled at him. "Just go already, _boy_." Cold and hard, his words punctuated by a sneer. Vlad spun on his feet, cape whipping with a sharp snap behind him as he walked back to where his screens continued their constant stream of data.

His hands tightened at his sides as Danny bit his lip to keep from shouting back some insult at the man. _Whatever_ , he thought instead as he passed through the firewall. Vlad's reasons for staying away from his parents wasn't any of his business, unless Vlad's comment earlier, back at his house, proved to be true. Why did that man have to be so infuriating? Danny stomped through the NetZone, heading toward the access point within his home. Some small part of him pointed out that he didn't even bother to thank the man. Even if it was for a self centered reason, Vlad still saved him from a horrible fate at the hands of the GIW. If only for that reason, Vlad did deserve some thanks.

A bark at his side alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone. Danny dropped his gaze to the small green dog that trotted along beside him. His tail wagged behind him as the dog stared up at Danny with happiness in his red eyes. Danny sighed, scratching a gloved hand through his white hair.

"I guess I'm stuck with you, huh?" Danny asked with a slight frown. In response, the dog barked. What was the name Vlad called him? Cujo, Danny thought he recalled. Cujo danced about, circling around Danny as they walked toward his home. "Well, at least you seem friendly." He frowned as he remembered their first meeting. "When you're not attacking me for trying to get past that firewall."

Cujo growled softly at the mention of that encounter. Shaking his head, Danny turned his attention to his surroundings. Programs were out as usually, making their way from one place to another as they performed their duties for their users. There were a few along the way, gathered in a little huddle as they played cards. Danny raised an eyebrow at that, but with things like solitaire and internet poker, it wasn't that surprising that programs could pick up on how to play them.

"You've acquired a pet?"

Danny turned his head at the voice. "Uh, yeah," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly as he dropped his gaze away from the bookish program. "Kind of got thrust upon me." He shrugged. "Any good books come in, Ghost Writer?" Danny always enjoyed seeing what new books were added to the Ghost Writer's library database. It was Danny's interest in books that bridged the rift between them after Danny accidentally destroyed Ghost Writer's only copy of his very own story during a fight. It surprised him that a program could actually come up with its own ideas for a novel, but back then, his knowledge on programs and viruses was limited to the ramblings of his parents and general knowledge of how to use a computer for school and gaming.

Ghost Writer shook his head. "Not since the last time you asked. My user seems to have gotten distracted from his work." The program frowned, disappointed in the neglect from his user. It was a sad thing that many programs experienced Danny came to discover. Users created programs. Then they got distracted with life or newer programs, and the older ones went on forgotten. But all programs remained in existence on the NetZone. The Ghost Writer could at least busy himself with writing his own novel when his user wasn't entering new books into the database.

"If you ever get that new novel finished, you should send it to me." Danny started walking again. "I'd love to read it."

The Ghost Writer blinked then nodded with a somewhat embarrassed look. "I'll be sure to do that."

Danny grinned as he began jogging toward his home. He shook his head, amused by the fact that the Ghost Writer seemed almost surprised that anyone would want to read his novel. In a matter of moments, Danny finally arrived back at his home, jumping through the access point. His room was dark as he shifted back into his human appearance. Lifting his arm, he tapped buttons on his watch, and the holograph of Cujo appeared. One corner of his mouth tugged upward. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing that Vlad gave him the security program. Cujo seemed to pick up on virus attacks before his own alert programming could. When his stomach gave a growl, he closed the holograph as he left his bedroom.

Heading downstairs, Danny wandered his way into the kitchen to see what he could find to eat. He opened the refrigerator, glancing over what was available. His nose scrunched up when he noticed the ham still sitting in the far back on the top shelf, wondering how long that had sat there. He couldn't really remember it ever moving from that spot. His attention turned back to looking for something actually edible when a noise caught his ear.

Closing the refrigerator door, Danny walked over to the door the led down into the laboratory in their basement. He nudged the door, cringing as it creaked when it swung open wider. Standing very still, he listened for any sound that his parents heard the noise, but they continued right on with whatever their latest project was. Tentatively, Danny walked down the top steps until he could lean down and peek at what his parents were doing. They had their backs to him as they stood over a table in the middle of the laboratory, poring over blueprints. His blue eyes drifted toward the far wall where the Fenton Material Portal sat set into the wall. There was the large opening that he stepped into at the beginning of his freshmen year. It still gave him chills to look at the machine, recalling the lasers that appeared when he accidentally flipped a switch before shocks of electricity surged through his body, altering his very DNA.

"Jack, it needs to be less bulky," his mother was saying as she scratched out part of the blueprint.

"I still think this one is the best idea," his father said he drew out one of the blueprints from the bottom of the pile.

Danny lifted an eyebrow when he caught a glimpse of it. He could have sworn it looked something like that thing out of old lunchboxes. The thing that would keep soup and other liquids hot until lunchtime. Frowning, he scratched at his head until the word for it popped into his head: thermos. With a tired sigh, Danny climbed back up to the kitchen. A thermos didn't sound like it would be too dangerous an invention, though he couldn't imagine what his parents were possibly trying to accomplish by designing some techno version of a thermos. His stomach grumbled again, reminding him of his hunger. He would worry about the thermos thing later.


	22. Chapter 22

Skulker rubbed at his face, still remembering the pain of Ember's guitar smashing into it. Women! He shook his head, hardly understanding what set her off in a rage. Luckily she wasn't present at The Vortex at that moment, or else he would probably have been run out the moment he set foot into the place. After Ember struck him, Skulker got up to find that Phantom, along with the other program and security dog, was already gone. It would have been the perfect opportunity to capture his prey while Phantom was unconscious, but with the other two programs present, it was probably for the best that they left him alone to take care of Phantom. A security program was a dangerous thing to tangle with, their programming specifically designed to fight off viruses. That black haired program didn't look like a pushover either, as many other programs were.

Skulker sighed, running his hand back over his head as he leaned on the bar counter. The fight wasn't exactly what he was expecting. Naturally when Skulker made his appearance in the real world, Phantom showed up to fight him. Skulker was disappointed with how easily Ember's attack tossed Phantom back. The rogue program was a much tougher opponent when he first came into being. But since then, Phantom didn't show any increase in power, merely surviving fights through reckless maneuvers. Then those pesky humans showed up, and Skulker was unable to seek his prey while defending against the humans' attacks. Turning in his seat, he stared grumpily at the virus beside him.

"So what exactly was the point of all that?" Skulker questioned, eying the strange looking virus with his brain seen through the clear dome atop his head.

"To draw out the Phantom program," answered the other virus as he reviewed the fight on one screen and a stream of data on the other.

"This is an awful lot of work just to kill off the program." Skulker frowned at the other virus with spiny legs under his big bulbous body. When the virus suggested they work together, Skulker had his reservations about the team up. He wasn't one to work with a partner, being a lone hunter.

"Why kill him when we can make him one of us?" A smirk slipped over the virus' face as he turned to Skulker.

"One of us?" Skulker repeated in uncertainty.

"I have plans for twisting the program's purpose," explained the virus, returning to sifting through the data. "But with this unnatural coding, I'll need to observe more of his fights." He grinned with an evil light seeming to gleam off the shades that hid his eyes. "I have another plan in the works for that. Phantom will have more than just us viruses to fight against."

"You do realize I set up this establish as a place of business, right?"

Skulker turned to the program behind the bar. Red eyes glared at him in annoyance as the program frowned, tapping an impatient beat upon the countertop. He had a strange, shadowy body dotted with lights that shifted when he moved. Purple horns curled out to the sides of his head. Nocturne owned the club, and despite being a mere program, no virus that frequented the joint dared to tangle with him.

"Yeah, yeah," Skulker mumbled as he spilled some data bytes that he won in a game against another virus onto the counter. Nocturne collected the payment before strolling off to file it away within his stores.

The brief interaction drew the other virus away from his research. "I'm curious," he announced as his shaded eyes followed Nocturne's movements. "Why is a program running an establish for viruses?"

Skulker blinked, the inquiry slowly rolling through his brain. Then he chuckled with a shake of his head. "You really are a new virus, huh?" He glanced toward Nocturne, who was shooing Klemper out of The Vortex after the obnoxious virus spent far too long harassing the other patrons about being his friend. "It was years ago," Skulker explained, watching the program a while longer before he turned back to the virus beside him. "Viruses and programs aren't exactly known for getting along together. Viruses corrupt programs. That's our nature. But there was a virus named Vortex," obviously the namesake for the establishment. "He met Nocturne, and they fell for each other. They had this dream of opening this place. But then something happened."

Skulker frowned as he leaned on the bar. "They were the first to ever escape into the real world, even if it was by mere accident that they got pulled out of the NetZone. The Guys in White seized them before they could even get any understanding of what happened. Their bodies weren't as stable in the real world, and they couldn't really do anything to fight off the agents. Nocturne doesn't talk about what happened while he was held captive by the GIW. The only thing we know is that Vortex sacrificed himself during their escape so that Nocturne could get away. No one knows what happened to Vortex when the GIW's antivirus program, known as Walker, hit him. Walker could have simply wounded him too badly to escape again, or he could have erased Vortex's very existence. Nocturne remains the only one that ever escaped Walker and the GIW."

"I wouldn't see the only one," mumbled the virus as he returned to tapping through the data he gathered, reviewing the fight that took place only hours ago.

"What?" Skulker blinked at the strange virus that still had never given his name to him. "Any virus caught by the GIW never escapes from that hell. It's as bad as being thrown into the under level." In some ways, Skulker thought perhaps the GIW was worse. Being experimented on, poked and prodded, cut into, dissected before eventually meeting with the ultimate fate of being erased from existence sent a cold shudder through him. The under level, it seemed at the very least, didn't result in being destroyed if Phantom's escape from it meant anything.

"Not all of us are incredibly loud braggers." The virus landed a look on him, like the comment was directed specifically at Skulker, and after recalling the way they met, Skulker realized it most definitely was about him. "I prefer not broadcasting that I escaped from the hands of the GIW. Walker might stick around the GIW headquarter, protecting against viruses and making sure none escape, but he has underlings that patrol around the NetZone. I don't want word getting out about my location."

Skulker stared with wide green eyes at the virus. He heard no news about a virus escaping recently from the GIW base. But thinking on it, he decided Walker wouldn't want the embarrassment of a virus escaping his prison, again, being spread around the NetZone. If it got out that viruses were escaping from the GIW headquarter, Walker would probably be looking at a riot on his hands. Skulker smirked at the thought of causing a little trouble for that obnoxious antivirus program.

A metal finger tapped upon the counter as he watched the virus beside him. "What's your whole interest in Phantom anyway?" Skulker frowned, not liking the idea of someone else chasing after his prey. He _would_ eventually have Phantom to add to his collection.

"Programming," the virus mumbled, hardly giving Skulker a glance.

That was one of the irritating things about this virus. He treated Skulker like everything about him didn't matter. Skulker clenched the jaw of his metal head as his steely hand closed in a tight fist. The secretive side of the virus wasn't helping matters either. The short, cryptic responses grew frustrating at times.

"Care to expand on that answer?" Skulker's mouth thinned as he waited for more of an explanation.

"A full explanation isn't necessary." The virus finally closed out of his screens and turned to face Skulker, his attention fully upon the other virus at last. "Your assistance doesn't require that you know, or even have a base understanding, of the endgame. Phantom is my objective." A smirk slipped onto his green skinned face, something secretive in that expression that set Skulker on edge with curiosity. "Though not in the same manner that my users' programming originally intended."

That wasn't so unusual. Viruses, even programs, often developed beyond the intentions of their users' purposes. Nocturne was a prime example of a program that broke free from the restrictions of his original coding. He didn't even require corruption from a virus to achieve it, like many other programs. Those programs and viruses left abandoned and forgotten by their users had an easier time of becoming their own beings than newly created ones.

"And who programmed you?" Skulker questioned curiously. His own user was a man out of New York that coded him to hunt through computers and collect information for him to use for whatever purpose he had in mind. The minds of humans would remain forever baffling to Skulker. But that inherent programming led him to become the hunter that he was, collecting unique artifact in the NetZone, like the sword of the Fright Knight and eventually Phantom himself. He was quite aware that this virus was using him for his own purposes, but Skulker overlooked that fact for the simple reason that once Phantom was in his grasp, he would turn around and betray this mysterious virus. The endgame, as it was put earlier, didn't matter to him. Skulker's only concern was in acquiring the Phantom program.

"There wasn't one single user that aided in the coding of my program," answered the virus. "I couldn't tell you each individual by name."

That information made Skulker blink in surprise. There were, of course, programs and viruses that had two or three users that helped in their development. But something in the way this virus spoke made it sound like there was a much larger group involved in his creation. This seemed like a curious development to his association with the virus. What group of users had their eyes on Phantom?

"I swear the next time that nuisance enters my establishment, I'll make him regret it," Nocturne muttered with a clenched fist as he appeared behind the bar again. "Someone should put that Klemper out of all our miseries."

The interruption to the conversation twisted something in Skulker's mind. Memories of the fight flitted back through his mind, and he recalled that strange program with the green dog security program. He frowned, leaning on the countertop. "Nocturne, you've encountered a lot of viruses and programs in your time, right?"

Red eyes slid toward him as Nocturne's brow knitted at the question. "Plenty of viruses visit this place on a daily basis. I know some of the local programs, but most I hear about through chatter here."

"Know anything about a program with black hair that's sort of styled like horns?" If anyone knew anything about the program, Skulker would put all his data on Nocturne having the answers. "White clothing, red eyes, has a security program with him that appears like a giant green dog."

Nocturne pondered over the information provided to him, searching through his memory bank to find something that fit the description. "Doesn't ring a bell," he said at last with a shake of his head. "But if you ask around, someone might have an answer for you."

Skulker was more than a little disappointed with that response. If Nocturne didn't know who that unknown program was, then Skulker doubted that he would find anyone else that would know. The only reason the program circled back into his mind was because it walked off with his prey. Skulker drummed his fingers upon the countertop, wondering if Phantom finally decided to team up with another program to fight viruses. If that proved to be true, he and his kind might have more trouble coming their way in the future.


	23. Chapter 23

Valerie scowled as she shoved more of her clothes into a box, cramming as much as she could into the single cardboard construction until it couldn't possibly hold anything more without bursting open. Everything felt like it was steadily spinning out of control, the world she was accustomed to crumbling into nothing. Ever since her father got fired from his job working as head of security for Axion Labs, they started with the packing process. When her father announced that they would have to move, Valerie was furious, couldn't understand why they needed to leave their home.

The home she grew up in. The home where all her memories were. The home that held everything that remained of her mother. Valerie could walk into the kitchen and recall her mother singing softly as she cooked. She could step into her father's bedroom and still smell the perfume that her mother always wore. She could sit in the den and hear her mother's laugh after her father did something goofy. A tiny grin tried to break through her glower as she remembered the little snort that would accompany her mother's laugh.

They would be leaving all that behind, leaving her _mother_ behind. And for what reason? Valerie snatched up the boxing tape to close up the box filled to the brim with her clothes. Her father sat her down and explained it all to her. They had savings, sure, but they wouldn't last forever. With her father out of a job, they needed to be careful about their spending until he could find something stable. Selling the house was the first step to cutting costs. Her father already found a nice little two bedroom apartment for them that would be well within the budget he set for them. Valerie hadn't seen it yet, but she automatically hated it. Lifting the box from her bed, Valerie nearly fell over from the weight of having packed too much into it.

"Need some help, sweetie?" her father asked when he passed by her room.

"I've got it," Valerie growled, gritting her teeth as she carried the box out of her room. She refused to accept his help, still too angry over this whole being forced to move thing. She still hadn't even told any of her friends about what happened, about her father losing his job. That was a conversation that she still didn't know how to go about, but she held onto a little hope that her father could find a new job before she ever had to tell her friends. What could be worse than telling the rest of the In crowd that her father was jobless and they were moving to some crummy apartment?

Her hands squeezed around the sides of the box as she walked down the stairs and to the front door. All of this was that stupid Phantom program's fault. Next time, she wouldn't let that blasted Phantom escape her.

She grabbed hold of the doorknob, struggling with it and the box in her arms for a moment before she managed to twist it open. She wedged the door open farther so that she could carry the box to the truck parked outside the house. The box nearly slipped from her hands in her surprise to find two people standing on the doorstep of her house, one of them with her hand raised and poised for knocking on the door.

"Dash, Paulina," Valerie said, hardly believing they were standing right in front of her. "What are you doing here?"

"We heard about what happened and wanted to see how you are," Paulina explained, frowning at the other woman. The comment made Valerie tense up, wondering how they could have possibly known about her father losing his job. She hadn't told _anyone_ about it. Her father hadn't talked much to anyone about it either.

"What's going on here, Val?" Dash asked with his blue eyes focused on the box in her hands.

Valerie blinked at him in confusion. "Wait. You didn't come over because you found out that my dad lost his job?" A sinking feeling dropped into the pit of her stomach like a cube of ice, settling there uncomfortably as other two teenagers stared at her shock at the question.

"Oh, Val!" Paulina patted the other woman on her arm. "We didn't know."

Dash reached up and rubbed at the back of his neck as he frowned. "We only heard that you got hurt last night at the game. We didn't hear how bad it was, so we wanted to check up on you."

Valerie turned her green eyes away from them at the memory of the football game. Perhaps it was stupid of her to linger behind when everyone else ran away. She hid around the side of the bleachers to watch the fight, knowing Phantom would likely show up because he was a nuisance like that. Even if she didn't have any means to attack Phantom, she wanted to do something to exact her vengeance upon him.

"It was just a gash on my leg. Didn't need more than a dozen stitches," Valerie told them, like the injury was hardly a big deal. She pushed past them to carry the box to the truck when Dash easily lifted it from her hands, taking it down to the truck for her.

"We had no idea about your dad." Paulina watched Dash before turning her emerald eyes back onto Valerie. "Where are you moving to?"

"Elmerton has the cheapest apartments," Valerie answered as she entered the house, and Paulina followed after her. "I'll still be attending Casper High though." But after it got out where she was living and about her dad being jobless, she wasn't all that sure she wanted to stay at Casper High. Already she was receiving those looks of pity from her friends. Paulina had a miserable look in her eyes as they walked up the stairs to Valerie's bedroom.

"That's great," Paulina said, trying to sound happy about it, but there was something in her voice.

Valerie knew what it was, having thought about that point herself already. The In crowd were popular, either because they were jocks or cheerleaders or they were rich, most being both. Valerie never made it onto the cheerleading squad. She never liked the idea of jumping around waving pompoms like an idiot, though she never said that out loud to Paulina. Now that she would have to be a bit tighter with her money, she didn't fit the category as rich either. She had no claim left to fitting in with the A list, and once that got out, she would be spending her lunches sitting alone, or worse with the losers of the school.

"I won't be able to get those concert tickets like I promised," Valerie said as they entered her bedroom. She grabbed another box to start cramming more of her stuff into it.

"Don't worry about that." Paulina shook her head, helping to gather various items from the bedroom to pack away.

"You don't have to play nice, Paulina." With a sigh, Valerie dropped onto her bed, the sheets already stripped off and packed away in one of the boxes within the truck. "As soon as we go to school on Monday, I'll be at the bottom of the social ladder and you'll be ignoring me with the rest of the In crowd." It hurt a lot, and not simply because she would be losing status within the school. They were her friends, the ones she spent all her time with in and out of school. Now she would be shunned by them. She would be without a single friend. Going to school was looking grimmer and grimmer to her with each passing moment.

Paulina frowned as she neatly folded a shirt and placed into one of the boxes. "We're still friends though, right?" She glanced at Valerie, like she was waiting for the other woman to dispute the claim.

"Paulina, we both know you live for the spotlight. You're not going to hang out with a loser and risk becoming an outcast yourself from the In crowd." Valerie shoved an old karate trophy from when she was in fourth grade into the box, glaring at the golden second place on the white stand. She stopped taking karate lessons before entering high school when she started getting more interested in things like fashion and becoming popular. Bitterness twisted inside her when she recalled that stupid Danny Fenton was invited over to Dash's house recently. Then she spotted Kwan chatting with the loser. It reminded her of her earlier ponderings about how Dash seemed to pick on the loser less often recently. What made that idiot so special that they would break social status rules to hang out with him?

"Well, maybe not in school," Paulina said. Was that actual guilt in her eyes? "But we could still hang out after school, right? I mean, there are plenty of reasons we could use as excuses. Like we got assigned some stupid project to do together for class. Or lab homework. I mean, we _are_ lab partners after all." She grinned, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Valerie stood up and walked over to the other woman. "What's the deal with the loser?" She folded her arms as she glared into Paulina's eyes.

"What?" Paulina stumbled over the word as she blinked in confusion. "What loser?"

"Don't play dumb. I know Danny might be in your theater class, but the three of you all seem to be acting weird around him." Valerie placed her hands on her hips as her green eyes narrowed a touch more. " _Nice_ weird."

"We're just trying to get the whole thing done for class," Paulina explained with a shrug. "It goes a lot faster when Dash and Kwan aren't harassing the loser."

"Who aren't we harassing?" Dash questioned as he entered the bedroom, probably looking for more boxes to carry down to the truck for Valerie, which she found strange from the man. Dash always struck as the type that didn't care much about helping other people, with the way he bullied the losers at school. Valerie frowned in thought at him, wondering if perhaps she didn't know him all that well after all.

"You," Valerie pointed a finger right in Dash's face, nearly jabbing it right against the bridge of his nose, "don't pick on Danny all that much since school started. What's the deal with that?"

Dash made a face as he snorted at the question. "It's a busy year. It's not like the teachers go easy on us just because we're seniors. I gotta put some of my time toward homework so I can graduate." He folded his arms, leaning back against the wall. "Unlike _some_ jocks, I actually plan on going to college."

Valerie knew exactly who Dash meant by that comment. Since the decline in Dash's bullying activity, his fellow jock Calvin Williams was picking up the slack on the bullying in school, though he had yet to get around to harassing Danny. The thought of Calvin, though, made Valerie groan at the idea of going to school on Monday. She didn't look forward to him trying to pick on her like the other losers. But if he did try anything, Valerie wasn't going to be the type that simply sat back and took the harassment. He would learn that she was no pushover.

"Oh, your friends are over," her father said when he peeked into her room as he passed with yet another box of things to pack away in the truck. "That's fine, but don't dally too long. We need to be ready to go before it gets dark."

"We're here to help," Dash said as he and Paulina both got back to filling up the boxes with Valerie's things.

"Oh, well, in that case, why don't I order us some pizza in about an hour?"

"Sounds good, Dad." Valerie smiled sweetly at her father until he walked off down the hallway. "You guys don't really have to stay and help. I'm sure you have more exciting things to do with your weekend."

Paulina shrugged, brushing some of her long ebony hair behind an ear as she glanced briefly at some of the framed pictures that sat on Valerie's desk before they disappeared into a box. "We're here already. We might as well help. It'll make things go faster. Then you won't have to spend the whole day packing by yourself."

"You know, if this was three years ago, you probably would never say something like that," Valerie pointed out, shoving some books into a box.

"Yeah, well," Paulina offered with a shrug. "People don't stay the same forever."

"Unless you're Williams," Dash pointed out in a grumble.

Paulina rolled her eyes, despite the truth of the comment. "And you can't always judge someone on appearance."

"Except for Calvin." Valerie grinned when Dash frowned at her beating him to saying it. "Well, I'm glad you're both not how everyone thinks you are." It was going to suck not getting to hang out with them during school, but she was happy that they weren't already cutting her out of their lives.


	24. Chapter 24

As she predicted, Monday was terrible, and she still had three periods left before the day ended. Valerie poked at her lunch, nudging around overly dressed bits of lettuce from her salad with a plastic fork, as she thought about the events of the day thus far. She arrived at the school like usual, braving to walking through the doors of the building with some hesitation. Paulina gave her a quick glance, almost tried to smile before she walked off with Dash in tow, perhaps both wanting to avoid having to be part of the In crowd that would inevitably harass her for her now loser status.

Kwan did offer her a smile, able to get away with it when the rest of the A list, and the school for that matter, wrote him off as a dumb jock. Valerie knew he was more than that but allowed him to keep that image he built up since they entered high school. She might have fallen in social status because of the belt tightening she had to do with her father out of a job, but that didn't mean she had to drag down the people around her that she still thought of as friends.

Calvin, unfortunately, caught Kwan's smile and slapped the other jock, hard, on the back of the head as he told Kwan to stop being a dumbass and treating losers like actual people. Kwan winced, rubbing his head as he walked off down the hall, and Valerie felt guilty that he got hurt simply because he happened to be a nice guy.

Calvin then decided to start with the harassment, approaching her with some snide comment about her being out of money and asking if she was going to have to drop out of school and get some lame-o job because she was poor now. Valerie responded, with a flat glare, by slamming her locker door shut on her his hand. From Calvin's vow to make her pay for that, Valerie almost worried that she made a mistake with that gut reaction. But she didn't regret getting to see that pained look on Calvin's face the moment the locker door connected with his hand. Lancer merely gave her a warning glare when he passed her after the incident, but there was a certain hint of pride in his eyes, like he was happy that she wasn't going to tolerate the jock's bullying, but of course, he couldn't condone her actions of hurting another student.

"Oh my god," Star's exclamation grated on Valerie's nerves. She barely lifted her green eyes to the blonde, who stopped in front of the table where Valerie was eating alone. Star placed a hand on her hip as she glanced at the other woman at her side. "Can you believe she's wearing that? It's _so_ last year." The two women giggled at what they probably thought was a well thought up insult, but it was nothing compared to the cutting remarks that Paulina could think up when she truly wanted to hurt someone. Curiously though, Paulina hadn't been making the effort for quite some time, which Valerie decided to be thankful for now that she was on the receiving end of the A list's cruelty.

"Yeah, kind of like that nose of yours," Valerie responded dully. "I mean, wow! You've had that one for at least a year now. Aren't you going to go crying to daddy and beg him for another nose job?" The gapes of shock and horror playing on their faces would have brought a smug sense of superiority to her not long ago when throwing mean comments at the losers. But now she only felt numb, like she was hardening herself to prevent the insults of the In crowd from breaking her, slicing into her the way her words did to other losers. Let them come at her with whatever pathetic barbs they had. She would prove to them that they couldn't cut her down.

"Come on, Star," said the other woman with curly red hair. "Let's go." She sneered at Valerie before directing the shocked Star toward the In crowd's table. Valerie watched them leave with a scowl on her face. While she hung out with Star as part of the A list, Valerie never really cared for the blonde woman, who seemed to be too much of a sheep to be interesting at all. The In crowd had a lot of sheep, all following in line with trendsetters like Paulina.

"Nice burn."

Valerie twisted around on the bench as she looked to whom spoke. Sam slid onto the bench next to her, setting down her tray filled with what looked to Valerie like she dug up a chunk of dirt from the football field and slapped it down on the lunch tray. Turning her head forward again, she found Danny and Tucker settling onto the bench across from her.

"What do you losers want?" Valerie asked, finding that she lost her appetite completely.

"Uh, you're a loser too now," Tucker pointed out as he lifted his big, juicy burger to his mouth. "Ow!" He winced, and Valerie suspected, from the glares on the other two teenager's faces, that his friends kicked him under the table.

"You know, when you like some, it's generally best not to insult them," Sam said smugly as she twisted the cap off her water bottle. Tucker spluttered as his cheeks darkened a few shades, which made Valerie groan internally. The techno geek was pretty obvious when it came to what woman he had a crush on, but Valerie had no interest in the loser.

"We saw the way Calvin, and Star," Danny threw a glance at the In crowd's table, "were harassing you." When he turned back to Valerie, there was an odd look in his blue eyes, like he somehow felt guilty about Valerie's situation. "We thought you might like some friends to hang out with." He smiled in that stupidly awkward way he had sometimes.

"I don't need you losers." Valerie grabbed her tray as she stood, giving the three friends a withering glare.

"See? I told you it was pointless, Danny," Sam said before Valerie even got out of earshot of their table.

Frowning, Valerie dumped what remained of her lunch in the garbage. It wasn't really that much, a half eaten salad and nearly the crust of her ham and cheese sandwich and some sludge that she couldn't identify. The school still maintained the same barely edible lunch menu it had for the past fifty years, despite an attempt from Sam to make it into an ultra recyclo vegetarian menu. No one in the school was very pleased with that experience.

Valerie left the cafeteria, hands tightly gripping the straps of her book bag. This day couldn't possibly get any worse. The A list she knew she could handle, no matter what sort of harassment they might try to use on her. But actually having losers trying to move in and be her friend was a fact that she overlooked. Why would those three even want to be friends with her? Sam was always quick to throw back insults and antagonize her. Tucker was irritating with his tech obsession and terrible attempts at flirting. Danny - Valerie pondered him for a moment as she walked through the quiet, empty halls.

Danny was a dork, clumsy, and weird. That wasn't surprising though when he came from a family of freaks. His parents having that crazy obsession with viruses and claiming that they could extract viruses and programs from the NetZone, give a physical humanoid form to them. That proved to be true, but that didn't make them sound any less crazy. Jazz actually seemed like the most normal, despite some social awkwardness and constant over analyzing of everything. Danny was just - Valerie couldn't think of how to describe him. He had a sort of air of mystery about him that she couldn't really explain.

With a sigh, Valerie stopped in front of her locker to unload some of the books that she wouldn't need for her remaining classes. School somehow felt more tiring as a loser, but maybe that was because of having to put up more of a defensive wall about her to stave off the comments from the A list. The door banged shut after she finished putting the thick, heavy textbooks into the locker. She turned down the hall, pondering what to do with the rest of her lunch time when movement in the corner of her eye distracted her. Glancing toward the right, she froze at the sight of the spider that was nearly as bigger as her head slowly lowering itself from the ceiling on a thin wiry white string of webbing.

The size alone wasn't the only oddity to it. The black spider had bursts of green light dancing over its body in a pattern that looked an awful lot like the type of pattern she would expect to see on a computer circuit. Valerie backed away from it until her back pressed against the wall of lockers. As much as she wanted to get her vengeance against Phantom, she still didn't have any means of actually fighting against viruses.

"Shit!"

The muttered curse snapped Valerie's head around as Phantom darted down the hall, firing over a ball of green energy from his hand. It sailed through the air and struck the spidery virus, sending it flying down the hall. Phantom's usual visor was absent, the remnants nothing more the jagged edges of translucent green at the sides of his head. A gash ran down over his face, his left eye clamped close as a thick clear substance oozed from his wound like some kind of mucus. Strange whitish green sparks radiated from the injury, dancing over his body and making the program twitch at times as he approached her.

"Get out of here," Phantom ordered her, watching as the spidery virus started skittering toward them again. He raised a hand to fire at the spider racing toward them, but his energy ball fizzled out as his body convulsed and he dropped to his knees with a shout.

Valerie managed to inch slowly along the wall because the spider was growing bigger, bits of it shifting and building upon itself until it loomed over them. Phantom looked rather pathetic in that moment, like she could easily just doing a karate chop to the back of his neck and knock him out. Valerie paused in her crawling escape to stare at Phantom. She could easily take him out at that moment, but there was still the matter of that other virus, which now filled the hall.

Vibrant green eyes snapped toward her. In a flash, Phantom was on his feet again. He grabbed hold of her by the wrist, ignoring the shout of protest, as he yanked her away in time to miss being crushed into the locker when the spidery virus attacked. Running behind him, Valerie gritted her teeth as the sparks of electricity spread from the rogue program and stung as it flickered across her exposed flesh. Phantom turned the corner, grabbing her about the waist and pulling her out of range, using his body to protect her when the spider smashed into the corner, spending chunks of brick flying around the hall.

"Let go, you vicious vaporware!" Valerie twisted her arm, trying to yank it free of his tight hold.

"I'm trying to protect you," Phantom argued as he pulled her along down the hall again to get away from the virus.

"You've done a wonderful job," Valerie stated flatly with a glare. She would have wondered why no one was coming out of classrooms to see what the commotion was, but teachers tended to keep students in the classroom to avoid them getting hurt when a virus attacked the school. Phantom's grip on her wrist, which would probably leave bruises, was impossible to break. Valerie tried to pry his fingers from her wrist to no avail. "Just let go already!"

Something surged through her body, feeling like fire running through her veins while freezing at the same time. She screamed, or thought she did. She couldn't hear anything beyond a rush in her ears. Then her back slammed into the ground, knocking the breath out of her as a lingering tingle made her body feel twitchy. Her eyes were clamped shut, and she slowly opened them, squinting at the world above her. The faded blue of what could be a sky spread wide overhead, and she wondered how she ended up outside until the white circuitry of the sky came to her attention. She sat up suddenly, her head spinning from the action. Her green eyes darted around, taking in the sight of the blocky world that looked like nothing she was familiar with. What kind of world was this?

Upon hearing a groan, Valerie twisted around to find Phantom lying on his back behind her. He sat up, holding his head, and his wound continued to ooze with that mucus looking goo. She shot to her feet and crossed the distance between them in an instance. Dropping on top of him, legs straddling his chest, Valerie slammed him back onto the ground before Phantom could fully sit up. Her eyes glared coldly down while confusion played across her face.

"Where did you bring me?" Valerie demanded, shoving him harder into the ground.

"I didn't-" Phantom's denial was cut off by an angry growl.

Valerie lifted her head and gulped at the large green dog towering over her. Scrambling off Phantom, she tried to put distance between her and that vicious looking dog. Phantom looked like easy pickings at the moment, but the dog looked like it would tear her legs right from her body in one sharp tug.

"Cujo, no!" Phantom shouted firmly as he got to his feet, pointing a finger at the dog. With a whine, the dog sat on its haunches before shrinking down into a much smaller dog, practically a puppy. Once the dog was no longer a threat, Phantom turned toward her. "Val- uh," glowing green eyes looked away with a certain awkwardness about him, "lady I've never met before. I don't really know what happened." He turned his gaze back to Valerie and frowned. "Humans shouldn't be able to enter the NetZone."

"The NetZone?" Valerie screamed, shooting to her feet. It wasn't until that moment that she finally looked down at herself. She nearly jumped in fright at her appearance, the strange black and red suit that reminded of something that a virus would be seen wearing. Her arm shot out as she pointed a shaking finger at Phantom, rage burning in her eyes. "What did you do to me?"

Phantom blinked in surprise at her question. "You - You think I did this?" he demanded, slapping a hand to his chest and looking completely hurt by the accusation. "I didn't do anything! I don't even know how we got pulled in here. I didn't plan for that to happen. I was just trying to get you away from that virus before you got hurt."

"You're the one that ruined everything!" Valerie shouted back at him in fury. Her hand clenched tightly, and it surprised her when something sprung from her wrist. It looked some kind of weapon, something that she would expect to pop up from that annoying Skulker virus. A grim smirk slid onto her face. If this strange suit had weapons, maybe she could utilize it to her advantage. And her first priority was taking out that one that ruined her life. The weapon charged with a whine, and she watched the shock flash over Phantom's face.

He dodged out of the way as a blast of pink energy fired through the air from the wrist ray. There was a look in his eyes when he rolled onto his knees. The green dog was back in its larger form, growling angrily at her. She wasn't going to let her prey escape while it was right in front of her, and now that she knew she had weapons, the dog didn't seem as scary to her. She fired at Phantom again, following his moments as he dodged her attacks.

"Hold still!" Valerie shouted before having to dodge herself when the dog tried to attack her. That was the moment Phantom chose to go on the offensive. His energy ball slammed into her side, tearing a scream from her as she skidded over the ground. That strange feeling she had before, that fiery freezing sensation consuming her body for a brief moment that felt like hours to her. She slammed into something hard before dropping to the ground on her hands and knees. Her eyes blinked several times, staring at the tiled flooring of the hall of Casper High as the weird black and red suit faded out in fuzzy blocks, leaving behind a watch upon her wrist.

Pushing herself back to sit on her legs, Valerie glanced up and down the hall, looking for Phantom, for the dog, for the spider, but it was empty. She frowned as she thought over everything that just happened, her gaze dropping to the watch that displayed a black screen with a red V upon it. Her fingers brushed over the surface of it, tracing the letter. Her jaw set as determination burned in her eyes. Phantom would regret giving her the power of a virus. She would make sure of that.


	25. Chapter 25

Danny cringed after his energy ball sent Valerie flying through the access point, and hopefully right back into the high school. Valerie already seemed fairly angry with him, and Danny doubted attacking her like that would improve her opinion of him, but it was the only the thing he could think of at the moment. He couldn't let her stay in the NetZone. He didn't know what kind of effect that would have on her since she didn't have the same kind of accident that he, and Vlad, did. She shouldn't have become a digital being like him from randomly being drawn into the NetZone, which he still couldn't figure out how that happened. He also couldn't explain that strange black and red suit she appeared in when she entered the NetZone. The outfit looked digital, virus like almost, to him.

"What do you think?" Danny questioned, turning to the security program as he shrank back down into puppy form.

Cujo barked and pointed his nose in the direction that Danny, regretfully, realized was Vlad's domain. Sighing, Danny followed after Cujo, who went bounding off toward his master's location. He wiped at his face, groaning at the gooey substance that leaked from his wound. Blood of a digital being. Danny always found it a little disgusting to see the clear mucus oozing out of him whenever he got hurt, cut by some virus attack Luckily, it seemed like the injury was starting to heal over, and hopefully it would vanish before he returned to school. That was a question he really didn't want to answer, especially after Valerie saw him with the injury as Phantom.

His mind drifted back to the fight against that spidery virus. It should have been an easy fight, the virus looking rather weak. Even with his training over the weekend, he still had trouble with the virus. It caught him off guard, scratching one of its legs down his face, destroying his green visor. Danny winced at the memory. That attack hurt more than it should have, making him feel like he stepped into the Fenton Material Portal for a second time and experienced that excruciating electrocution that made him feel cold inside whenever it sneaked back into his mind.

Danny dropped his gaze, looking over his body, but that strange sparking of electricity that kept dancing over his body was gone. While all the chaos was happening, he didn't even notice when it stopped. His brow scrunched up as he went over the fight, replaying it in his mind and trying to pinpoint the time when the sparks stopped. His mouth thinned when he only noticed the lack of sparks after they entered the NetZone. It was definitely gone when Valerie crouched on top of him and slammed him into the ground. He scratched his gloved hand through his white hair, wondering what it all meant. Maybe he was thinking too much on it, and the electricity didn't mean anything at all. He frowned even more, unable to shake that feeling that the sparking from his wound held some sort of importance.

The firewall of Vlad's domain loomed over him, and Danny halted, staring up at it. Cujo pranced happily toward it, eager to visit his master again. Danny, however, was hesitant. He didn't want to ask Vlad's help with this situation. It was like proving the man right that Danny actually did need Vlad's help, and he really didn't want to admit that was true. But what choice did he have at the moment? Valerie being able to enter the NetZone was definitely something he needed advice on, and Vlad knew more about this than anyone else. The man did research on viruses in past, helping in the creation of the Fenton Material Portal through the prototype he worked on with Danny's parents. He probably continued with his research, trying to understand more about his own condition after the accident.

Danny bit down hard on his lower lip, knowing he had no one else to turn to in this situation. Viruses wouldn't talk to him, and programs probably wouldn't have any clue about hopping between the real world and the NetZone. His parents were definitely not an option. He couldn't imagine that conversation going well. His parents would probably think he was crazy for suggesting it was even possible that a human could enter the NetZone like a virus. Or, he swallowed thickly with fear, it would spark an idea in his parents' heads and they would start working to find away to enter the NetZone themselves to combat the viruses. He shivered at the thought of what the Guys in White would do if the idea ever occurred to them. The thought of the GIW creating a whole army capable of entering the NetZone was a chilling idea.

The conversation about the consequences to his actions sprang to mind as he stared at the firewall barring his way. Danny clenched his teeth, knowing Vlad would only point out what happened with Valerie was, again, his own fault. He could already imagine a smug smirk on the man's irritating face as he made stabbing comments about Danny's ineptitude, digging at the younger man's pride.

"Forget it," Danny muttered, turning his back on the firewall. "I'm out of here." Cujo whined, clearly not happy with the missed opportunity to see his master again. But Danny ignored the dog as he started to stomp away from the firewall. He would figure out his problems on his own without having to listen to Vlad berating him for being a stupid child.

"Not even going to bother saying hello." Vlad's words drew Danny to a halt, his body growing tense as he glowered at the world before him. Cujo, meanwhile, was yipping like a happy puppy. "And after you came all this way, you just walk away."

Danny spun around to pin his scowl upon the man. No smugness was found on Vlad's face, no sense of superiority, only irritation in his red eyes and thin mouth. "I thought about telling about how very disappointed my parents were when you left so suddenly, but then I thought you probably don't really care." He folded his arms, struggling with the frustration and anger boiling in him. "I mean, you did say you were no longer obsessed with my mom, right?" His eyes narrowed, hands gripping his biceps painfully hard.

Vlad closed the distance between them, and Danny firmly stood his ground as green and red eyes glared into each other. "I do love Maddie," he admitted, and Danny's eyes narrowed another fraction at the confession. "And I could tell you of a thousand plans I had to steal her away from Jack, of a thousand more to eliminate Jack for vengeance for what he did to me. But," Vlad sighed, and there was a tired look about him, a loneliness in his eyes, "what would be the point? I can't live outside the NetZone for more than a few hours at a time. That's hardly enough to have a real relationship with anyone. Even if I still wanted to seek Maddie's heart, I could hardly do it from here," he waved an arm around the NetZone, "now could I?"

"She would never fall for you," Danny snapped out bitterly. "She loves my dad, and nothing you could ever do will change that."

A twitch of his eyes, and Vlad almost looked like he was about to punch Danny in the face, the young man wincing prematurely for the blow that he was certain was coming. "I'm already well aware of that fact," Vlad stated through clenched teeth. "But surely you came here for some other reason than to rub salt in a man's wound like a brat."

Danny took offense at being called a brat. "You're the one that's a spoiled brat," he shot back. "You don't get what you want so you hole yourself up in isolation sobbing over yourself." He huffed out a breath as Vlad scowled at him with a dangerous look in his red eyes. "And with the way you're keeping watch over me," he thrust a finger at the green dog that tilted his head in confusion, "you shouldn't need me to explain why I came here. Not that it matters, because I'm _not_ asking for your help."

They glared at each other, their heads mere inches apart until with a growl, Cujo appeared bewtween them, his large form driving the two of them apart. Danny stumbled away as Cujo growled at them, looking quite furious over the two of them bickering like little five year olds. It was embarrassing to admit, but Vlad seemed to drag that part of him out whenever they talked. It was like their first encounter devolved them into children that only knew how fight with each other. What were they going to do next? Yank on each other hair? Push each other face first into a sandbox? The way they acted was rather pathetic when he thought about it.

This couldn't be what Clockwork had in mind when he instructed Danny to find Vlad. What exactly did Clockwork see happening, since he could obviously predict the outcomes of events? Did he see the two of them butting heads with each other, getting so angry with one another that even seeing the other incited the urge to pick a fight? How was this supposed to help him get stronger? How was he supposed to learn anything from Vlad when all he wanted to do was punch him in the face?

A slobbering wet tongue broke Danny out of his thoughts, and Cujo whined as the dog rubbed his head against Danny's cheek before shrinking down to puppy size. Danny stared down at the playful puppy and shook his head as Cujo wagged his tail. A sigh caught his ear, and Danny lifted his gaze to Vlad. He jerked away, tensing up when the man approached him.

"Haven't even learned how to fix damage to your own coding yet?" Vlad frowned, no smugness, no humor to the question.

Danny flinched when Vlad tapped a finger to his temple, close to the site of his injury. The corners of his mouth tugged downward as he watched the man work on correcting the scrambled DNA coding, fixing, healing the injury. It was strange to watch him work, delicately adjusting the data, pulling free contamination until the coding was back to its original format. It was no wonder, when Danny thought about it, that Vlad realized immediately that the man in front of him was human. Vlad knew exactly what to look for to identify the oddity of Phantom.

"It heals fine by itself," Danny muttered, looking away, confused by this sudden change in attitude. It wasn't the first time that Vlad healed an injury for him, but Danny still couldn't understand the man's motives.

"It's foolish to think like that," Vlad said in a crisp tone, almost like scolding a misbehaving child. "Would you leave your computer to 'heal' itself when infected with a virus?" He held up a hand between them, and Danny dropped his gaze to the tiny, marble sized bit of data, lightly giving off whitish green sparks.

"What is that?" Danny felt a little disturbed that the man pulled that electrified data from his injury.

"I'll have to analyze it to determine the answer to that." Vlad closed his hand around the data, a serious expression upon his face, which distracted Danny for a moment. "But left inside of you, who knows the damage it could have done? Whenever you're injured, you should immediately fix your coding to avoid virus infection."

"Why do you appear so much younger in here?" Danny's eyes widened when he realized he asked that question out loud. It was a passing thought that came to him after staring at the man's face when he remembered Vlad looked as old as his parents when he arrived at Fenton Works.

Vlad lifted an eyebrow, and that curious amusement was back in his eyes. "It's easy to alter one's appearance when you know how to manipulate data." He glanced over Danny before folding his arms behind his back. "When trapped in here, I didn't see much point in aging this form. I only alter my human appearance to fit the proper age of Vlad Masters whenever I have need to leave the NetZone."

"Oh." Danny nodded, deciding that was a logical explanation. His brow wrinkled then as a confusing thought turned in his head. "But I don't know how to alter my appearance, and I've been aging this whole time."

Vlad sighed, like explaining things to Danny was quite exhausting. "That's a perception thing. You think you're aging, so your digital form naturally changes to match how you see yourself. Aging isn't a hard physical change to pull off and takes very little thought. However, if you wanted to change your clothing, that would require a little more focus."

Danny's brow remained pinched in the center as he thought over Vlad's words. "I guess that makes sense." He scratched at the side of his head as he tried to wrap his mind around the explanation. When he glanced at Vlad again, he frowned at the smug look in the man's red eyes. "What?" he demanded as some of his earlier grouchiness returned.

Vlad's mouth twitched as he tried to school the smirk attempting to slip onto his face. "Oh, just you've been shouting this whole time about how you don't need my help," he shrugged, "yet now you're asking me questions and listening to me." The smirk finally made its appearance, and Danny scowled at the man.

"I should be going," Danny said with a huff. "My lunch break is probably about to end." He turned to start walking when he frowned and halfway turned back to Vlad. His green eyes darted toward the man then away again. "Um, thanks." Reaching up, he rubbed at the back of his neck. "For, you know, healing me." That was probably a skill that he should take the time to learn. Then he wouldn't have to rely on Vlad's help next time he got an injury where he was bleeding out that gross mucus substance. He caught the amusement on Vlad's face, and a flush rose to his cheeks.

"Bye!" Danny shouted before turning away from Vlad. Cujo was at his side in an instant when Danny started running back toward the nearest access point at Casper High. He shook his head, trying to figure out how he went from antagonizing Vlad to thanking him, almost being friendly to the man.


	26. Chapter 26

"Okay, dude," Dash said, frowning at his best friend while they sat around in their first class after lunch. "What's up? And why do you keep giving Fenton weird looks?"

Kwan snapped out of his stupor at the question, tearing his eyes away from the grumpy Fenton, who came to class late and was now suffering at the hands of Paulina, who enjoyed getting to play dress up with him as she decided what to force him to wear as the female pig in their play for class. He turned his gaze to Dash and couldn't help but put on a teasing smirk at the frown that the blond jock wore.

"Afraid I might make a move on him before you can?" Kwan questioned, nudging Dash in the ribs with an elbow.

"Dude, so not funny." Dash gave him a shove, nearly knocking his friend right out of his chair. His cheeks were red with a blush. "And don't say things like that here. What if someone overheard you, jerk?"

Kwan chuckled as he righted himself. "No one's even paying attention to us." Which would be surprising, considering their popular status, but most of the theater class was filled with drama students who didn't care all that much about the A list. That fact made this class the perfect opportunity to speak without worrying about anyone else listening in, specifically the other In crowd members. "Besides," Kwan added, still grinning, "you know I have no interest in him like that."

Dash eyed his friend with some suspicion, though Kwan really hadn't shown any interest in Fenton in terms of being attracted to him. "Yeah, but you never seem interested in anyone." He narrowed his blue eyes more as he leaned toward his friend. "What's up with that? You blow off every girl that flirts with you. They just think you're being your silly, thick headed self, but I know you're not _that_ oblivious."

In Dash's mind, his sister couldn't have picked a better guy to have a little crush on, and he appreciated that Kwan didn't want to do anything to hurt her feelings. Though avoiding Lily did exactly that. Lily already knew that Kwan didn't think of her as anything but his best friend's kid sister, but knowing that didn't stop her from liking him. Dash sighed to himself, wishing there was someone he could set Kwan up with on a date, but his friend always rejected the idea of a blind date. _Stubborn_ , Dash thought as he frowned.

Kwan shrugged as he leaned back in his seat, aqua green eyes slipping toward Fenton with that strange look crossing his face again. "I just haven't found anyone that really catches my eye. I mean, we can't all be like you and literally hit on the person we like until three years later realizing we actually _like_ that person." He grinned and dodged as Dash tried to punch him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but you can't just write people off without getting to know them," Dash argued, folding his arms. "What if you brush off someone at first glance and they turn out to be the one for you?"

"So you think Fenton is your 'the one?'" The skeptical look in Kwan's eyes seemed more like he was questioning the whole concept of 'the one,' of soul mates, in general rather than simply Dash's choice of whom he liked.

Dash shrugged and glanced toward Fenton, who wore a miserable expression while wearing the long ebony wig that Paulina forced onto him. "He could be."

"Then maybe you should go for it already. Instead of just lurking in the background.. If you don't try, someone else might snatch him up before you ever get the chance."

"Seriously, how is there no one you like?" Dash remained flabbergasted by that fact. "Because, you know, if you like another guy," he waved at Fenton, "I obviously won't have a problem with that."

"I don't know." Kwan shrugged, frowning in irritation about the topic of conversation. "I just don't feel anything toward anyone. Not everyone has to meet their perfect match in high school. Maybe I'll find someone in college."

Dash sighed and hung his head in defeat. When the subject of crushes came up in conversation, it always tended to end this way with Kwan denying any interest in anyone. Fingers scratched through his blond hair, and Dash decided to simply give up on the whole thing. Kwan could be stubborn as a freaking rock when he wanted to be. Dash wracked his mind for some other topic to break away from the whole crush thing before his friend decided to start teasing him mercilessly about Fenton.

"Oh," Dash sat up straighter as a thought hit him. Since they were basically free to talk about anything at the moment with no one listening or paying attention to them, he felt it was safe to bring it up now. "You never said anything about what you figured out from that stuff on the techno dork's PDA." He stared at Kwan, who frowned with a troubled look in his eyes. Dash didn't think he was going to like what his friend had to say from that expression.

Kwan shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense." He leaned forward, chin in his hands as he watched Paulina and Fenton, whose face was now bright tomato red.

"Okay. I expect to hear that from Foley. But you know your tech shit. You can figure out basically anything when it comes to tech." Dash bent forward, patting a hand on his friend's back. "Maybe you just need to bounce ideas off someone. I may not be as good at the tech stuff, but I can shoot ideas at you."

Kwan turned his head, aqua green eyes piercing into his friend as he continued to frown with uncertainty. "The Fentons make some pretty crazy stuff, right?"

"Well, yeah," Dash agreed, mirroring his friend's frown. "They always seemed to have a few screws loose, but I guess they really aren't that crazy with the whole virus thing."

Kwan's brow pinched as he struggled with the wording for what he had to say. "Do you think they would create a program to aid them in fighting the viruses?"

The question worked its way slowly through his head, and Dash jerked back, blinking in surprise. "Wait. Are you trying to ask if I think the Fentons _created_ the Phantom program?" When Kwan nodded, Dash's brain ceased to function at the absurdity of the very idea. The Fentons? _Creating_ the Phantom program? It was absolutely ridiculous! "But they hate the Phantom program," he argued when he could finally think of something, _anything_ , to say. "They think he's just another virus too."

"Yeah, there's that." Kwan's expression fell, almost like he hoped for some other answer from his friend.

"What do you guys think?" Paulina questioned with a proud smile as she shoved Fenton toward the two jocks.

Dash nearly choked on air when he turned his head to the pair. Fenton scratched embarrassingly with one finger against his very red cheek as his blue eyed gaze was cast away from them. The long ebony wig matched perfectly with his natural hair and still looked rather fitting on the man as it draped down to the small of his back. The dress Paulina chose was pink, to go along with the pig theme, reaching to mid thigh.

"I look ridiculous," Fenton murmured. "Why does there even have to be a girl pig? The characters are all male in the story."

"Nonsense!" Paulina actually looked really happy with the whole idea of getting to use Fenton like some kind of dress up doll. "You look adorable."

If possible, Fenton's face turned even darker red. "I don't want to look adorable."

"I think he looks great." Kwan grinned at his friend. "What about you, Dash?"

Dash turned his gaze away before he was caught staring like an idiot. Folding his arms, he grumbled, "Better than that hideous puce dress at least." Out of habit, a smirk spread onto his face. "You should be happy that this isn't being performed for the entire school."

The bell rang before Fenton could find his voice to snap back at him. Frustration crossed Fenton's face as he stomped off to change out of the dress that Paulina sewed for him as the costume designer for their group. Paulina joined him to make sure he didn't rip it in the process of removing it. Dash grabbed his book bag from under his seat as he left the room with Kwan, who wouldn't stop grinning like a maniac. He gave his friend a hard shove in the ribs with his elbow before they parted ways to head to their next classes.

His remaining classes proved to be as boring as usual with the teachers droning on and on about whatever they were currently studying, and Dash felt like he was being bored into a coma. He spent most of his class time doodling in a notebook, some of his sketches being of Phantom, but the majority of them ended up being Fenton with a number of them in the pink dress that he would be wearing for the play. When he realized that, Dash quickly flipped his notebook to a clean page before anyone could peek over to see what he was doodling. Maybe Kwan had a point and Dash should go for it with Fenton already.

Dash sighed as he packed up his things when the final bell of the day rang. Shouldering his book bag, he followed the throng of students from the room into the main hall. He easily pushed his way through the mass of bodies, people moving aside for the star football player and most popular guy in school. He was almost to his locker when his attention strayed to something happening across the hall. His teeth ground when he spied that jerk Calvin Williams holding Fenton pinned to the lockers. He was surprised, really, that it took Calvin this long to move in on bullying Fenton.

Crossing the hall, Dash seized the other jock by the sleeve, twisting the fabric of his shirt as he jerked Calvin away from Fenton. "Back off, Williams," Dash ordered with a threatening growl in his voice. His dark blue eyes narrowed dangerously with the promise of pain if the other jock didn't do as commanded.

"Sticking up for your girlfriend?" Calvin snorted with a malicious smirk on his face.

Dash didn't dare to glance at Fenton and see his reaction to that comment. "No," he snapped a tad too quickly. "I just don't want you moving in on my punching bag. Fenton is _my_ loser. You really don't want to tangle with me, Williams."

"You better watch yourself, Baxter," Calvin threatened, ripping his shirt free from Dash's hold. They held a glaring match for several moments until Calvin finally broke it and stormed off down the hall, shoving students, roughly, out of his way.

"Uh," Fenton said, stunned and his voice filled with uncertainty, and Dash turned around to face him. Fenton blinked then darted his gaze about the hall, probably noticing all the people that paused to watch the display. "Why did you do that?"

"Are these just for decoration?" Dash reached out and tugged on Fenton's ears. "You think I'm going to let that dick move in on my loser?" He smirked until he noted the offended look Fenton wore at that comment. If Kwan were there, the other jock would probably be shaking his head at his friend's misstep in trying to woo his crush. It was a force of habit now to refer to Fenton as a loser, but that certainly wouldn't win him any points with the other man. He tried to think of something to say that might fix things, but a cough interrupted him.

"Is there a problem going on here?" Lancer questioned, green eyes narrowing down at the pair of students.

"No, Sir!" Dash answered immediately as he half stepped away from Fenton to put some distance between them. "We were just discussing stuff about the play for our theater class."

"We were?" Fenton questioned, though his confusion might be more than simply over the jock's lie.

"Of course." Dash snapped his gaze toward the raven haired man, silently telling him not to say anything about what transpired between him and Calvin.

Lancer frowned like he suspected they were discussing no such thing upon his arrival. "I'm quite looking forward to the performance of your play."

"Uh," Dash blinked rapidly in his bafflement, "what, Sir?" From what their theater teacher said, he was fairly certain that they would only be performing for the first and second graders of the elementary schools, not for the whole of Casper High.

"Mister Lawrence records all of the performances for his class," Lancer explained with a smirk. "He lets me watch them when they're all finished. I like to see who took the class because they were serious about it and who," he frowned, glaring down his nose, "was merely looking for an easy A."

"Oh, we're totally serious about it," Fenton assured their teacher while Dash gulped nervously because he certainly went into the class expecting it to be easy.

Lancer turned his gaze onto Fenton and smiled with a little more pleasantness. "Ah, Fenton. I'm looking forward to your next essay for class. I hope it will be at the same high quality as your last one."

Fenton flushed lightly at the praise and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'll try my best, Sir."

"Excellent." Lancer looked quite pleased with Fenton's response. "Now if you'll excuse me." He walked a little farther down the hall. "Miss Farborne, I believe it's time we have that chat with your parents." He guided a young woman with frizzy orange hair down the hall, having apparently caught her in the act of doing some that broke school rules.

Dash turned his gaze toward Fenton, who already turned away to open his locker and retrieve some books. "Uh, look. About-"

"I really have to get going," Fenton cut him off as he shut the locker door. "Lots of homework to get done." There was a troubled look in his blue eyes, like some terrible problem was weighing him down and he couldn't figure out the answer to it.

Dash glanced about the hall to see if anyone was still watching them. Then he stepped in closer to Fenton. "Look. I didn't actually mean what I said, about you being my loser and all that shit," he explained quietly, but Fenton's expression looked doubtful. "I just had to say that to get Williams to back off." He tossed a thumb over his shoulder like Calvin was right there behind even though the other jock was long gone. "Trust me when I tell you, you don't want to get beat on by that guy. He won't hold back."

"Like you do?" Fenton shot back, frowning and glaring.

"Surprisingly, yes," Dash hissed in return. "I always held back. Even before-" He shook his head and pulled away from the other man. Those words wouldn't fall easily from his lips, even if he wanted to confess to the other man. He didn't think Fenton would be willing to listen to it or believe he meant it. "Just - I'm not going to let that ass hurt you." Shoving his hands in his pockets, Dash walked away and refused to toss a glance over his shoulder, despite the temptation to see if Fenton was watching him leave.


	27. Chapter 27

"You look," Tucker paused as he searched for the right word to describe his friend's haggard appearance, "tired." He winced, knowing tired was very much the understatement. Danny's raven hair stood up at odd angles like he was too rushed that morning to even run a brush through his hair. Bags were under his blue eyes like he was getting even less sleep than usual. Tucker frowned, growing more worried about his friend. He was pretty tired himself from late nights studying and finishing off homework, but from the way his friend looked, Tucker would almost think that Danny had ten times the amount of homework.

"Just a lot on my mind," Danny mumbled then sighed in exhaustion. Whatever was on his friend's mind was clearly troubling him.

"Anything I can help with?" Tucker opened his locker to grab the textbooks that he would need for homework that night. He groaned internally as he remembered that he needed to study for a German test tomorrow _and_ work on a sewing project for class that was due tomorrow. Thanks to Sam's prodding, Tucker spent far too much of his time trying to unravel the mystery of Phantom's coding. She was helping him with notes for reviewing later when he did his homework, which was good, but the decoding was taking longer than he expected. Even with his expertise, the Phantom coding made little sense.

Danny shook his head as he searched through his own locker for what he needed for his homework. "Just that thing with my parents' old friend," he mumbled before he turned his head and glanced over his shoulder.

At the expression on Danny's face, the almost guilt in his eyes, Tucker followed his friend's gaze to see that Danny was staring at Valerie walking alone down the hall. Frowning, he gave his friend a shove in the shoulder, not too hard. "Dude!" he complained as Danny turned his head back around to give his friend a confused look. "You know I like her."

Danny blinked then laughed as some life seemed to return to his eyes, which Tucker sighed in relief to see. "I'm not interested in Valerie like that. She's all yours." Ribbing his friend, Danny chuckled. "If she'll fall for those lame pickup lines you always use. Dude, I'm telling you, you should just act like yourself. Stop trying to use those dumb lines and just talk to her like a normal person. Oh, and try not to point out that she's now a loser like us. She'll probably punch you in the face for that."

"Ha ha," Tucker grumbled, glowering at his friend. "And I should take your advice on getting a girlfriend, why?" He lifted an eyebrow at his friend with skepticism in his green eyes. "You aren't exactly Mr. Suave with the ladies." A smirk slipped onto his face. "So when are you making your move on Sam?"

It didn't surprise Tucker to see the rosy color tingeing Danny's cheeks at the question. Luckily for the pair, Sam was delayed in joining them for getting into an argument with the A list during gym and got caught by Tetslaff while holding Star pinned to the gym floor and practically seconds from ripping a large chunk of blonde hair from the woman's head. She refused to tell them what started the argument or how it escalated to hair pulling at lunch, but now she had detention for two weeks. Tucker wondered what could possibly have set his friend off, though with the In crowd, it could have simply been a look that incited her wrath.

"There's nothing between Sam and me," Danny argued, shoving books into his bag before he closed his locker. "Sure. We may have thought about it. But come on. Our friendship is too important to ruin it. And," he shrugged, "I'm not interested in her like that anymore."

Tucker gawked as his friend, blinking a few times in his surprise. He could have sworn his two friends were still harboring feelings for each other. They never were good at hiding it, and they continued to blush whenever it came up or someone referred to them as lovebirds. Tucker scratched at his head in confusion over this new bit of information.

"Well, if you don't like Sam, who _do_ you like?" Since he always thought his friends were going to eventually hook up, Tucker never really thought about questioning Danny about his crushes. He was a hundred percent certain that he would have to listen to Danny rambling on about his secret love for Sam if he ever did ask.

Danny slung his bag over his shoulder as he shrugged. "No one, I guess."

"Dude, seriously?" Tucker's mouth hung open wide in shock. "There's no girl in school you like? Not even Paulina?"

_All_ the men in school had some kind of crush on Paulina. Tucker even still had a lingering crush on her, as silly as it was, but he knew it was hopeless for him, a techno geek loser, to even consider possibly dating the most beautiful woman in school. And he knew that crush was completely superficial while his interest in Valerie was based on real feelings, though up until recently she was out of his reach. Now that they were in the same loser social circle, Tucker thought he stood a better chance of at least catching her eye.

Danny sighed tiredly at the question. "Nope. None."

Tucker stared at his friend, green eyes bulging slightly at that admission. Danny had no interest in any of the women at their school? How was that even possible? Frowning, Tucker glanced around briefly before stepping in close to his friend. In a lower voice, he asked, "A guy then?"

"What? No!" Danny jerked back a step, shocked by the question, his face scrunching up at the suggestion.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with it if you do." Tucker shrugged. "I mean, it won't change anything. We'll still be best buds." He wore his usual goofy grin, hoping Danny would know it was the truth. If Danny turned out to be gay, Tucker wouldn't abandoned him. They were bros for life, no matter what.

"I'm not-" Danny sighed and shook his head. "I've never really given that much thought." He raked a hand through his hair, frowning as the idea of homosexuality seemed to sink in for him. "But I don't really have the time to think about dating."

"I know we have a lot of homework, but surely that shouldn't stop you from at least _looking_." Tucker frowned again at that tired expression on his friend's face. "And you should be able to break away from studying to go on a date over the weekend at least."

"It's not just homework." Danny didn't look like he would give any further explanation, and the growl coming from his wrist interrupted anything more they would have said.

"Did your watch just growl?" Tucker asked, frowning and pointing at his friend's wrist.

"Yeah," Danny mumbled as he glanced down at the watch. "Uh, weird thing my dad invented." He shrugged, like it was the usual thing, and for his family, it generally was. "I better get going." He waved the hand with the watch. "Chores and stuff to do before homework. I'll catch you later." Danny darted down the hall before his friend could say anything.

Tucker sighed as he watched his friend disappear down the hall in the fading crowd of students. With Sam stuck in detention and Danny running off home, he had nothing to do with his afternoon. He was looking forward to their usual trip to the Nasty Burger, but that was out now, which left him with the choices of waiting around in the high school for Sam to get out of detention or walking home.

Adjusting the book bag over his shoulder, Tucker dug into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. He tapped at the screen as he walked leisurely toward the exit of the school. The coding continued to puzzle him, baffling him by its impossible structure. It didn't look like any other coding he had ever seen, virus or program. Tucker's brow pinched as he studied the information on the screen of his PDA.

A noise made him lift his head. Wrinkles appeared over his brow as he tried to discern the whining noise and skittering scratching. Turning his head, Tucker barely had time to scramble out of the way before a burst of pink energy slammed into the spidery virus racing down the hall. The virus banged into the lockers, denting the metal, right where Tucker stood only moments before the impact.

Tucker swiveled his head around quickly to stare at the woman dressed in a black and red suit. The helmet she wore hid her face behind a dark mask. The red circuitry design over the black of her suit formed a triangle in the center of her chest. Tucker stumbled away as she approached a gun within her hand and aimed at the spider struggling to get back onto its eight spiny legs. He gulped, clutching his PDA to his chest as he watched her fire her weapon. The shot pierced through the spider, clear liquid oozing from its body as it slumped unmoving to the ground. Was there another rogue program out there like Phantom hunting viruses?

"I suggest you get out of here," the female program said, her voice sounding strange through the helmet. She didn't take her gaze away from the lifeless virus. "Before you end up getting hurt."

Her gun snapped toward Tucker, who with a startled shout tripped over his feet and landed on his butt. He flinched as the firearm discharged another shot. At the thump, his green eyes cracked open to see another spider virus, twitching its legs, right in front of him. A beeping drew his gaze back up to the woman, who twisted around to stare down the hall.

"Finally showing your face, Phantom." She smirked. Tucker didn't need to see behind the dark visor to know the woman was smirking. "Your time is running short." She took off down the hall, ignoring Tucker's presence in her rush to chase down her prey.

Tucker watched her go, heart still hammering in his chest over the encounter. He was never up close and personal with a virus fight like that. Even at the football game where he and Sam had to be saved by the jocks, he was still far removed from the actual battle. He didn't have a gun pointed directly at his head at almost point blank range. Swallowing thickly, he dropped his gaze to the twitching spider. Her words rang out in his head. "Your time is running short." He snapped his head around toward where she ran off, and panic surged through him. She was going to try to kill Phantom!

Shooting to his feet, barely even noticing the way the spider viruses seemed to be inching closer to each other, Tucker raced down the hall, praying he could reach them in time to do something, anything, to keep the strange female virus from killing Phantom.

It wasn't hard to find them. Not with the sound of a body slamming into the lockers with a clanging rattle of the doors. Tucker rounded the corner to see Phantom struggling to his feet, a nasty burn seared through his clothing, showing bruised and reddened skin beneath it on his left side. The female virus held her gun pointed in his direction, already firing another shot. Phantom dodged, the pink burst missing him to scorch the metal of the lockers. Launching toward her, Phantom darted, zigzagging to avoid being hit again. When he reached her, his fist raised high, ready to dropped it down in a hard blow, but the female caught it, twisting swiftly and utilizing his own strength against him as she threw him over her shoulder, down the hall, much like a karate move Tucker recalled from a number of different movies in that genre that he loved to watch.

She approached him slowly, stalking Phantom down the hall like a lion preparing to pounce on an unsuspecting gazelle. Tucker needed to do something before she could hurt Phantom. But what could he do? He wasn't like Danny's parents. He didn't have weapons that he could use to fight against viruses within the real world. He wished he did, but he was powerless in this situation. It was the first thing to come to his mind. He screamed.

When both Phantom and the virus turned to him, Tucker pointed a hand down the hall with a fearful expression. "There's a virus attacking some poor nerd in the library!"

The female virus turned back to Phantom, staring at him for a moment like she was debating what to do. "You just dodged a bullet." Then she rushed off down the hall in pursuit of the virus that was harming an innocent person.

Tucker waited for her to leave before rushing over to Phantom, who stood with a hand held to his waist. "That looks pretty bad." He winced at what he could see of the wound.

"You lied." It wasn't a question. Phantom spotted the lie to drive off the woman right away, but it was a huge gamble. The virus might have decided that killing off Phantom was more important than saving a human. Why should a virus care about a human anyway? Tucker was surprised by the relief that showed in Phantom's eerily glowing green eyes.

His form turned blocky, becoming fuzzy like a glitch, and panic flashed over Phantom's face. Spinning on his feet, the program tried to run away, escape from the human, but Tucker refused to let him get away. He grabbed hold of the program, seizing Phantom around the waist and tackling him to the ground. Phantom grunted under him and struggled to crawl his way out from under the human, but it was too late. The blocky appearance dispersed, leaving behind not the white haired program that Tucker expected to see but a raven haired man.

"Danny?" Tucker questioned, his voice barely above a shocked whisper.

"I can explain this," Danny said quickly.

"Really?"

"Okay. No." Danny sighed, dropping his head to bang on the tiled floor.

"How? When? What?" Tucker tried to form a complete thought, but he couldn't seem to think straight after seeing Phantom transform into his friend.

"Before explanations, can you get off me?"

"Oh. Sorry." Tucker flushed in embarrassment as he climbed off his friend. He stuck out a hand to help Danny back to his feet. Seeing the wince, Tucker frowned as his gaze dropped to his friend's left side where he could see a bit of red staining through his shirt. It hit him hard, and he gasped out loud like being punched by one of the jocks. "Oh god," he breathed out. "She was going to kill you. She was going to kill my best friend!" He grabbed hold of Danny, yanking him into a crushing embraced as that fact spun through his head. If he hadn't done something, his friend could have been killed.

"Just a little banged up," Danny said with a weak laugh as he patted Tucker on the back. "I'll live."

"No, Danny!" Tucker snapped firmly as he pulled back, gripping his friend by the upper arms and giving him a sharp shake. "She killed those spidery viruses earlier. Right. In. Front. Of. Me." His green eyes burned into the surprised blue eyes of his friend. "She said it. She said your time was running short. She's seriously out for blood."

"Oh man." Danny's fingers threaded through his hair as he dropped his gaze, the realization hitting him as hard as it hit Tucker. "She didn't seem to like me, but I didn't realize she would actually want to kill Phantom. I still don't even know how Valerie got that suit."

"Valerie?" Tucker shouted, wondering how many more shocks his system could take.

Danny nodded with a frown, his brow pinching in thought. "The other day during lunch, viruses attacked, and she got mixed up in things. I tried to get her away to some place safe, and we just," he shrugged, uncertainty in his eyes, "popped into the NetZone. Now she has that crazy suit thing and has been showing up any time viruses do, but more importantly whenever _Phantom_ shows up."

"Dude, you've really got to be careful then." Tucker felt shaky. He really needed to sit down before his legs turned completely to jelly and he simply collapsed. "You know she basically had a black belt in karate before high school started, right?"

"Well, that would explain that throw she did." Danny paled at the mention of Valerie's skill in martial arts.

Tucker dropped his gaze to Danny's left side again, not liking the growing red spots. "We should get that looked at." He took Danny's hand, leading him down the hall toward the nurse's office as his friend merely nodded in response, holding his other hand pressed to his injury. At least it wouldn't be too unbelievable to blame the wound on a virus attack. "How did you even end up as Phantom?" Tucker turned to stare at his friend, baffled by that fact.

"You know that crazy invention my parents spent practically all my life building?" After Tucker nodded, Danny took a deep breath before continuing. "Well, they tested it, right before freshmen year, but it didn't work. I was stupid and just peeked inside it." He cringed, pain lacing his expression. "Somehow, I got it working, and I ended up with this ability to turn digital."

"Is that what happened with Valerie? Is she the same as you now?"

Danny shook his head with an uncertain frown. "I don't think so. I mean - I don't know. I'm not sure what this makes her."

They were close to the nurse's office now, and Tucker knew he had little time to ask questions before they entered. "Why didn't you ever just tell us? We could have helped, you know."

"I _do_ know." Danny sighed tiredly at Tucker's confusion. "I didn't want you getting dragged into this, getting hurt. You're my friends. I want to protect you."

"And you're _our_ friend. We want to protect you too." Tucker grinned at his friend, and Danny managed a smile in return. "Oh man! Sam is going to flip when she finds out." He laughed, already imagining her face. But when he thought about their earlier conversation, Tucker glanced at Danny. Sam clearly still had some lingering feelings toward Danny, and she seemed to have somewhat of a crush on Phantom. Learning that they were one in the same, Tucker wondered how that would go over with the Goth.

"No," Danny stated firmly as he shook his head. "You know she'll just go all in on the whole idea of fighting viruses with me."

"She already wants to meet with Phantom to give him your parents' inventions." Tucker frowned down at his PDA. "She's already pushing me into trying to figure out a way to keep tabs on Phantom's location."

Danny snatched the PDA from his friend's hand, ignoring the protest. After a few taps on the screen, he handed it back. "Oops, all that data about Phantom got eaten by a virus."

Tucker pouted as they reached the nurse's office. "I was still trying to figure out that coding!"


	28. Chapter 28

Curse that Tucker! Valerie gritted her teeth as she slammed her fist into the punching bag she strung up in the dumpy little room she had in the apartment her father found. She was seconds away from getting her vengeance on Phantom for turning her life upside down. Then Tucker had to appear, again, screaming something about someone being attacked by a virus. She was tempted, so very tempted, to ignore the loser and focus all her attention on Phantom.

But, Valerie sighed as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, she couldn't allow her plans for revenge to blind her to innocent people being hurt by viruses. She didn't want to see anyone else have their lives ruined like hers was because of some stupid, malicious virus running amok in the real world.

The whole suit she gained after that encounter with Phantom at school was still a mystery to her. She still didn't understand how it happened, how Phantom dragged her into the NetZone with him, or why she ended up with the suit. She didn't feel any differently since that experience, didn't feel changed in any way beyond receiving the suit. Unless she counted the powerful feeling that filled her with the new ability to fight the viruses. She grinned, relishing the fact that she could destroy viruses where others failed. The Fentons. The Guys in White. They failed time and time again to erase the viruses attacking their town while she could eliminate the viruses with her weapons.

_Next time_ , she thought curling her hand into a tight fist. Next time Phantom wouldn't escape her wrath.

When she arrived at the library, prepared to take out any virus in the vicinity, Valerie found all was quiet. No viruses in sight. She was duped by that stupid loser. Grinding her teeth, she wondered why the other students were so eager to help Phantom. They kept worshiping him like he was some great hero when he was anything but that. Phantom was a villain in disguise. He had them all fooled into thinking he was protecting them. Except for the adults that saw him for what he really was: a vicious virus bent on destroying their town.

When she heard a knock on the door, Valerie walked over and opened it. "Dad?" With some confusion, she blinked at her father, dressed in one of those tacky uniforms that the night guards wore at Axion Labs.

"I'm going to be out late, graveyard shift," Mr. Gray explained, frowning as he rubbed the back of his neck with a look of regret. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. "Here's some money. You can order a pizza or go to Nasty Burger for dinner."

Valerie accepted the money, staring down at the two twenty dollar bills in her hands. "You got your job back?" She snapped her gaze up to her father. Hope barely flickered in her eyes, too filled with doubt at that idea.

"Afraid not, sweetie." Mr. Gray sighed. "They hired me back, giving me a second chance, but only as a night guard. I'll be working a double shift tonight. I won't be making a lot, but at least it's a job." He glanced around her room, his eyebrows lifting at the sight of her old workout equipment. "Getting back into your karate?"

Valerie turned halfway and looked at the weights and punching bag and other workout equipment that she had set up in her room. "I thought I'd take it up again." Half a smirk slipped onto her face, but she wiped it away as she turned back to her father. "I always liked it."

Mr. Gray smiled down at his daughter. "Your mother was always so proud when she went to watch your matches." He leaned down and kissed her on the side of her forehead. "Don't stay up too late. You still have school tomorrow."

"I won't." Valerie followed her father to the front door of their apartment and waved to him as he left. When he was out of sight, down the stairs, she closed the door with a tired sigh. She was really happy that her father was being given another chance at Axion Labs, but like he said, he wouldn't be making much, probably not even minimum wage while he was back at the bottom of the work pyramid, kind of like she was in the social pyramid at school.

Her gaze dropped to the forty dollars in her hand. She considered simply staying in, eating whatever leftovers they had in the refrigerator and stowing the money away for savings, but she decided it couldn't hurt to splurge every once and a while. She left the two bills on her desk before she went to shower and wash away all the grit and sweat from her work out, although the shower didn't exactly leave her with the cleanest feeling in the world. A sigh escaped her as she realized she would have to give it another deep cleaning in the hopes of removing what remained of the grime all over the bathroom. Since they moved into the apartment, she already gave the bathroom, and the kitchen, two furious scrubbings with the strongest cleaners she could find, and still some of the muck refused to go.

After the shower, she got dressed, throwing on what she could find within her closet. Her wardrobe selection had decreased greatly in size since the move. As much as she didn't want to give up her clothing, they simply didn't have the space for everything she owned anymore. There was a nice little store that would pay her some money in return for the donation of clothing. It wasn't a whole lot, certainly nowhere near as much as she paid for the clothing in the first place, but it was something at least. She gave most, maybe three fourths, of the money to her father. Before, she would have kept the money all to herself, but he needed the money more she did with bills. Their savings wouldn't last forever after all. But she still didn't like giving away the money.

Grabbing the cash from her desk, she stuffed the two bills into her wallet that she then shoved into the pocket of her jeans. That was another thing she gave up with the move: all the expensive purses she owned. She kept one, her favorite that was a soft yellow with orangey brown Cs decorating it. It used to belong to her mother, and she couldn't find it in her to give it away. Since she would only be heading to the Nasty Burger, she didn't really see any real need for lugging around the purse.

She tugged on a coat as she left the apartment. One of the neighbors was in the hall, a much older woman with graying ebony hair and a baby in her arms as she tried to rock it to sleep. Valerie offered an awkward smile when the woman greeted her. Picking up her pace, she hurried down the stairs before the woman could ask if she wanted to come in for dinner, a ploy to trick Valerie into babysitting for her while she passed out in a stupor in her bedroom. Sadly, Valerie fell for the trick the first night they moved into the building. Since then, she tried to avoid the woman as much as possible.

Getting out of Elmerton and back into Amity Park was like being able to breathe again. Valerie sighed happily at the familiar surroundings of her home town and wished she still lived here instead of in that dump in Elmerton. She rubbed at her shoulders as she headed for Nasty Burger. With the revival of her training and fighting viruses, her body was taking a beating and left her feeling sore all over. But it was a good feeling. She was accomplishing something. She was getting a step closer to achieving her goal of defeating Phantom.

When she entered the fast food joint, tension ran through her body, her walk becoming a little stiffer, and Valerie hoped no one would notice that. The Nasty Burger was crowded as usual with teens who attended Casper High and used the place as a hangout. After a quick glance around, she spied the tables inhabited, like always, by the In crowd. Dash and Kwan were huddled together in the corner of one booth, seeming to hold a private conversation with each other and ignoring everyone else. Paulina, meanwhile, pretended to smile, though there was a hint of misery in her emerald eyes as Star talked her ear off. Valerie cringed when she heard the irritating shriek of a giggle from the blonde, who apparently thought she told a hilarious story, but from the weak laugh, Paulina didn't seem to enjoy it as much as her fellow A lists.

Valerie ordered a simply Mighty Meaty Meal with a small soda. The remaining thirteen dollars would go into her savings. Tapping her fingers on the counter, she waited off to the side for several moments before the employee delivered the meal to her with a forced smile on her face that had grease smears upon her cheeks. Valerie took the tray and walked away, looking for a table at which to sit. Laughter drew her gaze back to the In crowd, and she frowned when she noticed the small, freckle faced man in one of the Nasty Burger uniforms on his hands and knees. Soda drenched his uniform that had globs of ketchup and mustard staining the front with a few bits of fries and lettuce clinging to him. A tomato somehow ended up in his messy sandy hair. Valerie would have laughed along with the A list only a week ago over the torment of the nerdy, weak man.

Turning on her heel, Valerie headed toward the other side of the restaurant, trying to put as much distance between her and the bullies as possible. There were too many people at the Nasty Burger, leaving no open space for her to sit alone and eat her dinner. She was about to decide taking her meal and going home when she heard her name. Green eyes flashed to the source of the call to find the trio of friends sitting in a booth. Sam scooted over and patted the open spot beside her, inviting the other woman to join them.

With her mouth thinning, Valerie debated her options. She didn't really feel like making friends with the losers, but it was lonely, at school and going places after school when she had no one to spend time with. Glancing back over her shoulder toward the A list, she thought maybe it was okay. The trio, at least, seemed to want her around, even if it was partially out of pity for her drop in social status. There was also the fact that Danny's parents were the leading experts when it came to viruses. Maybe she could learn a thing or two that might help her figure out what exactly happened to her if she weaseled her way into the trio of friends. Sighing, she joined the three friends at their booth.

"So detention for two weeks," Valerie said in an awkward attempt to break into the conversation.

"Totally worth it." Sam grinned widely before she lifted her soda to take a sip.

"So what exactly happened?" Danny asked as his blue eyes glanced between the two women.

Valerie thought she saw a hint of wariness in his eyes, even Tucker seemed oddly uncertain about the other woman's presence in their circle. Her brow pinched just slightly at the men across from her. On Monday at lunch, they both seemed eager to include her. What happened since then to make them not as happy about her being there? Tucker, at least, would have some reason to be fearful of her. She still wanted to punch him for tricking her to save Phantom from her vengeance. But Tucker didn't know she was the one in the black and red suit.

"Girl stuff," Sam answered simply with a shrug, and the comment seemed to close that topic for discussion rather quickly as both men pulled face at the thought of what exactly the Goth meant. Valerie had to laugh because they were far off from guessing what exactly happened during gym class to land Sam in detention.

"Star's face was priceless." Valerie grinned, recalling how the blonde reacted when Sam launched at her, deftly pinning the popular woman to the floor. The move made Valerie wonder if Sam took any sort of martial arts training. It wouldn't really surprise her if the Goth had. Sam always struck her as the type to know how to defend herself if she was ever placed in the position where she needed to fight.

Danny glanced at his watch and frowned. "Ah, I should go." He slid out of the booth with his friend following after him.

"I'll go with you," Tucker said. "Lots of homework to get done."

"This is why I keep telling you to stop slacking off," Sam called after her friends as they headed for the exit of the Nasty Burger. "I swear, boys." She huffed and rolled her eyes. "They put everything off to the last minute."

Valerie snorted a chuckle. "You'd be surprised to know Dash and Kwan get their homework done pretty quickly."

Sam raised a skeptical eyebrow as she gave the other woman a look of disbelief. "Dash and Kwan? Seriously?"

"I might not be popular anymore, but if you dare to call them stupid, I will hit you." Valerie narrowed her green eyes threateningly, and Sam raised her hands in surrender.

"Well, if it isn't little Val." Both women jumped at the voice as a man slid into the booth on the other side of the table.

"Ugh," Valerie groaned when she recognized the fuzzy haired man. "What do you want, Jing?"

"Who is that?" Sam asked in a quiet voice as she leaned toward the woman next to her.

"Kwan's older brother," Valerie whispered back, not happy at all to see the man.

"I'm hurt." Jing placed a hand to his chest and tried to look wounded. "I always thought you liked me."

Valerie scoffed at him as she folded her arms. "Yeah, maybe when I was five and thought you were the coolest guy ever. But," she shrugged, "you're not nearly half as cool as your brother."

Jing blinked in surprise. "Funny you should mention him." Folding his arms on the table, he leaned forward, and Valerie frowned at him, wondering why Jing was coming to her instead of simply talking to his brother. "I'm worried about him."

"Why?" Sam asked in utter bafflement while Valerie snorted at the man.

Jing sighed with a tired expression like he was exasperated with the whole situation. "I feel like he's falling into a bad crowd. He gets aggressive and defensive any time I try to talk to him, and he's been secretive ever since the football game. It's like he has something to hide, but whenever I talk to him, he pushes me away. Do you know anything? Is he mixed up in anything?"

"Okay. Even _I_ know Kwan would never get caught up in a bad crowd," Sam said, gawking at the suggestion.

"Even if I _did_ know something, I wouldn't tell you anything," Valerie admitted honestly. Kwan was a dear friend and a total sweetheart. If he was keeping something from his family, he obviously had a reason, and Valerie wasn't about to betray him, though the truth was that she didn't know anything. "If you want to spy on your brother, do it yourself." She stood, picking up her tray with only a few remaining fries. "I really have to go now."

"I'll drive you," Sam offered, following Valerie as she went to dump her trash into the garbage can and leave the tray on top of it. Jing didn't protest their departure, which was a relief to Valerie, who still felt like her skin was crawling after the encounter. She honestly couldn't remember why she thought he was cute when she was five.

"You don't really have to give me a ride," Valerie said with some awkwardness about the offer.

"And let you walk all the way back to Elmerton? No way," Sam refused as she led the way to her car.

Valerie debated arguing, but it was cold and she was tired. Getting a ride all the way back to her apartment actually sounded nice. She settled into the passenger's seat of Sam's convertible with a sigh.


	29. Chapter 29

Jing drummed his fingers upon the desk as he stared at the computer monitor, waiting for some bleep of life to appear so he could do something beyond the boring task of watching for virus activity on the NetZone. His partner Agent E was passed out in the chair next to him, leaning over the back of the chair with his mouth opened wide as he snored. Sighing, Jing turned his mind to other thoughts. His brother had him worried. As much as he cared about his brother, he never thought that there was anything to be concerned about until he moved back into his parents' house after the break up with his girlfriend.

Kwan was hiding something. Jing frowned, lips pressing tightly together as he glared at the computer. It started with Kwan helping Lancer with the virus outbreak in the high school. His brother tinkered with tech, but he certainly was no genius with it. Lancer would have done better to immediately call up the Guys in White when the virus hit, instead of relying on a student, who was now responsible for the virus escaping. Their boss was furious with that fact.

Jing wished there was some way he could get his brother to talk to him, but every time he tried to break the ice between them, Kwan only responded grumpily. He couldn't remember a time when they were ever close. Maybe when Kwan was still a baby, long before he started being able to talk and walk. Why was it so hard for him to connect with his brother? There shouldn't be this wall between them. Siblings bickered. Sure. But this felt like it went beyond the usual sibling rivalry.

A knock on the door woke up his partner, who gave a shout of, "I'm awake!"

"Smooth," Jing muttered with a flat glare. "You've got a bit of drool here." He tapped the side of his chin below his mouth to indicate where he meant on the other man. As Agent E wiped at his chin, Jing stood and walked to the door.

"Agent J," said the man on the other side with the usual neutral expression. His head was shaved like many others, but his eyebrows were orangey red. Freckles dotted his young face, and Jing guessed he was maybe a year or two younger.

"Agent X," Jing said with a nodded of his head, curiosity rolling through him at the presence of the other man. Agent X worked directly under their boss and performed mostly secretarial duties.

"Agent Arthur requests your presence in his office," announced Agent X, saluting before he pivoted sharply and walked down the hall.

"Someone's in trouble," Agent E said in a sing song way, gaining an annoyed glare from his partner. "What did you do to piss off the boss man?" He smirked, arms folding behind his head as he leaned back his chair. His bushy eyebrows were annoying as ever.

"I have no idea." Jing frowned, trying to subtly wipe sweaty palms on his pants. He couldn't think of a reason for their boss to ask to see him. He followed every rule of the organization and couldn't remember breaking any of them.

Taking a deep breath, Jing left their little room and headed for his boss's office. He was nervous the whole way through the halls, hands clenching and uncurling at his sides out of habit. The walk felt like forever as he wracked his brain for why his boss wanted to yell at him. It couldn't be about the incident with Lancer's laptop since he already shouted at his partner and him for that. The attack at the football game got him mild praise for his quick action, and his boss found the escape of the viruses understandable when Jing mentioned the involvement of the Fentons in that incident.

When he reached the office, Jing hesitated only for a brief moment before he raised his hand and rapped sharply upon the door. After he received permission, he entered the office, closing the door with a soft click behind him.

"You wished to see me, Sir," Jing said, standing at attention with his arms flat at his sides and his head raised.

"I've been reviewing recent reports," Agent Arthur explained, shifting through the papers on his desk. Sitting there in the chair with the desk blocking a portion of his body, it was easy to misjudge the man's size. Agent Arthur stood at a towering six foot seven inches. His shoulders were quite broad, and his white suit fit tightly over his muscles. The small amount of hair upon his chin was kept neatly trimmed.

"Was there a problem with them, Sir?" Jing bit the inside of his cheek. He was certain that he filled out everything properly and left out no details in regards to events that happened during the virus attacks.

"You failed to contain the virus."

"My apologies, Sir!" Jing responded quickly. "Phantom has proven to be more difficult than expected."

Agent Arthur lifted his head, a frown settling upon his face. "I was actually referring to the virus that was supposed to be within that teacher's laptop." His fingers laced together as they folded over the desk. "It's a rather dangerous virus that we can't allow to remain on the loose. We need to capture and contain it immediately."

The words set Jing back as they rattled through his head. "Sir?" he questioned in confusion. "What about Phantom?"

"He is still a priority." The frown pulled farther down on Agent Arthur's face. "But after reviewing the reports, it's come to my attention that these attacks seem to originate from Casper High School. This virus," his hands tightened, squeezing each other visibly, "seems to be hiding out there for some reason. If we place an agent at the high school, we'll have a better chance of catching this virus, and Phantom along with it."

"An agent at the high school?" Jing repeated with uncertainty as he tried to understand why his boss was mentioning any of this to him when he was merely a grunt agent.

"Yes." Agent Arthur picked up a file from the corner of his desk and opened it. "According to your background, it's the high school you graduated from. Which means you'll know all the ins and outs of the high school as well as the staff there. That makes you the most qualified for this job."

"I'm sure there are other more qualified agents," Jing argued, though the assignment had its temptations. If he worked undercover at the high school, he could potentially find a way of growing closer to his brother. Or at the very least uncovering what secrets Kwan was trying to keep from him.

"The modesty act won't gain you any favors in this organization," Agent Arthur stated stiffly. "Assignments are handed out to those most suited to fulfill them. That was why you were chosen. Pretending you are anything less won't make us think any better of you." His gaze returned to the file in his hands. "You also have a brother that attends the high school.

"Yes, Sir."

"You mentioned him in your reports." Agent Arthur lifted his head to stare at the man before his desk. "He was at the scene during two of these attacks. Or at least, the two you were present for. And you even brought him here last Friday after the attack at the football game."

"That is correct, Sir." Jing frowned, wondering where his boss was going with this line of questioning, though it was more of a fact stating. But he couldn't help feeling a little shaken that the man was focusing on that point. It was part of the reason he worried over his brother. He didn't like that Kwan kept seeming to be around at the time of virus attacks.

"Be sure to keep an eye on him. It will reflect badly upon our agency if it should come out that the brother of one of our agents is somehow involved in these attacks."

"I assure you my brother is not involved in any of this," Jing responded urgently, fearing that his boss thought poorly of Kwan. "He toys around with computers, but he doesn't do anything beyond what the average teenager would know how to do."

"I have no doubts about that. Your brother clearly wouldn't know how to create this particular virus," Agent Arthur said calmly. "It took more than one mind to craft _this one_." His mouth twitched, tugging in another frown. "But that wouldn't stop the public opinion from thinking otherwise."

"I promise that he won't be involved in anymore attacks at the high school."

"Good." Agent Arthur nodded approval. "I've already contacted Principal Ishiyama and made all the arrangements. You'll take over as the computer science teacher." The corners of his mouth turned upward in amusement. "It seemed like the most fitting position for you. Principal Ishiyama will fill you in on where the class is at the moment, give you the former teacher's notes and lesson plans upon your arrival." He turned his arm and glanced at the watch upon his wrist. "And you should probably head out now if you wish to make it before your first class."

"I start today?" Jing gaped at his boss. "Aren't you springing this a little last minute?"

Agent Arthur's mouth thinned. "There's no room for complaints in this agency. And I'll remind you that failure will result in punishment."

Jing cringed, already knowing the type of punishment given to those that failed the Guys in White. He raised a hand to his forehead in a salute. "I'll be on my way then, Sir."

Agent Arthur nodded. "Dismissed."

Jerking his hand away, Jing gave a small bow before he left the office. He ran a hand over the fuzz of his hair as he walked. The short notice of his new assignment didn't give him much time to prepare for taking on the role of a teacher. He still had to change into some normal clothing. If he wanted to keep his cover, he couldn't walk around wearing his GIW suit. Leaving the building, he walked through the garage to his car.

After a quick drive home, a change of clothing, and a ride to Casper High, Jing walked into the principal's office, an unusual experience for him. During his time at Casper High, he never had reason to visit the principal's office. He was always a good student that never got into trouble. Principal Ishiyama gave him a long, boring talk about everything that he needed to know for the class. She kept slipping in comments about his old high school days and how he brought home the win for the championship game during his senior year. He was glad by the time he was able to escape her office, breathing a sigh of thanks that class starting soon made the woman finally release him from her rambling chatter.

He tucked the file with the prior teacher's notes under an arm as he started down the hall toward the computer lab. His brown eyes drifted around the hall, and it didn't surprise him when he noticed some of the girls glancing his way and whispering to each other with giggles and light blushes. He was popular in his days at Casper High, and he hadn't lost anything in terms of looks and build. It didn't take him long to spy his brother among the crowd, hanging out with his usual friends.

"Kwan!" Jing called out, raising an arm in the air and waving it as he smiled brightly.

His brother turned his head, and in an instant the friendly grin he gave to his friends was replaced with a neutral expression. "What are you doing here?" Kwan questioned when his brother reached his little trio with Paulina and Dash. None in the group looked happy to see him at their school.

"Teaching the computer science class." Jing raised the file of notes like his answer should be obvious.

Kwan's shoulders sagged, and his expression pulled into a look that clearly read that he prayed his brother was joking. "Why? The Guys in White not paying you enough?"

"Because-"

"Well, that's nice and all," Dash cut in, narrowing his dark blue eyes angrily at the older man, "but we really need to head to class now." He placed his hands on his friend's shoulders and pushed Kwan along down the hall while Paulina followed after them.

Jing frowned as he watched them go. Reconnecting with his brother, apparently, wasn't going to be an easy task. With a heavy sigh, he continued down the hall and hoped he didn't somehow end up looking like a fool when he taught the class.


	30. Chapter 30

Danny didn't know what to think when he walked into computer science class that day and discovered not the mousy looking woman with gray hair pulled back into a messy bun and thin wired glasses that she kept having to push up her nose when they slipped down it that taught the class but a man in her place. He hunched down behind his assigned computer, trying to go unnoticed throughout the class. Even without the shades and the white suit, Danny couldn't forget the Guys in White agent that held him at gunpoint at the football game last Friday. He couldn't even focus on the work they were supposed to do that day as he wondered what the GIW agent was doing teaching the computer science class. The entire time all he could do was fear that somehow the agent would recognize him as Phantom. He swore the man would somehow hear the racing of his heart or the panic running rampant through his head.

When the bell rang, Danny bolted out of the classroom, leading the rest of the students out the door. He wanted to get as far away from the agent as possible, his skin crawling with fear. As he turned down the hall, he slammed into another body. He started to fall until a hand caught his arm and steadied him.

"Better watch where you're going, Fenton," Kwan said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," Danny mumbled, thankful he didn't end up running into one of the other jocks. He still didn't know what to make of that recent encounter with Dash when the blond man stopped Calvin from harassing him. Dash saying things like he wasn't going to let Calvin hurt him was something he didn't want to think too hard about because it made his head hurt. It didn't help when Tucker's questions danced into his head at the same time, asking him if he had girls he liked. Or guys. With all the viruses attacking and getting his grades up so that he could graduate, Danny didn't even stop to think about things like crushing on someone. Not since Sam at least. He didn't really count any feelings toward Paulina because every man at Casper High had a crush on her at one point in time, and the feelings were generally superficial.

"Don't sweat it." Kwan shrugged, half a grin slipping onto his face as he dropped his hand away from Danny's arm. His aqua green eyes lingered on the other man.

Danny shifted awkwardly under the gaze. It was like the jock was trying to puzzle out some very difficult riddle, and if this was still a few weeks ago, Danny might have thought it was as simple as one plus one. But after seeing Kwan's bedroom, Danny realized the jock wasn't as dumb as everyone pegged him to be. He could understand now why Valerie got angry over Sam calling the jock stupid.

"Hey," Danny said awkwardly, frowning in his uncertainty. "Is everything okay with you? Like at home or anything?" He turned his gaze away, feeling like he was treading into a topic that was forbidden between them. They talked during their theater class, but they weren't friends and it wasn't any of his business. He certainly had no right sticking his nose into what sort of things transpired between Kwan and his father, even if it had him worried.

Kwan sighed, running his hand through his short raven locks. "Just the usual." He shrugged like the usual meant what every teenager went through at home, except Danny didn't believe that. "I guess I'm just a little stressed out with my brother moving back in for a while, and now he's taken up a teaching position here, and it's really not helping with that whole 'in my brother's shadow' feeling."

Danny jerked his gaze back to Kwan, his blue eyes widening in shock. "Your brother?" he gasped out, quickly snapping the pieces together. He vaguely recalled the man announcing his name as Jing Long, but at the time, he was too panicked over the man's presence to make the connection to Kwan. "But why? I mean, he works for the Guys in White! Why would he need to teach computer science at a high school?"

"How," Kwan started slowly, his brow pinching as the frown stretch over his face, "do you know that?" His gaze pierced into Danny like the jock was seconds away from figuring out the answer to a long suffering problem.

"Uh, well," Danny stuttered and glanced away, scrambling for a believable excuse. "I just had him as my teacher in my last class." He rubbed at the back of his neck with a nervous laugh. "And I thought I recognized him from the game on Friday. I mean, I was pretty freaked out when those viruses attacked so I could have just been confusing him. But when I walked into the classroom, it was just like whoa! Because he looked exactly like the Guys in White dude that ran past me at the game."

Kwan squinted his eyes, and Danny gulped at the scrutinizing stare. "I guess he does have that annoyingly recognizable face," the jock grumbled as he leaned away, taking his eyes off the man in front of him. Danny breathed out, subtly, in relief as some his tension melted away. He really wasn't sure if the jock would buy his lame excuse, but something in Kwan's expression caught his attention. That haunted look that seemed so familiar to him.

"Hey." Danny gave the jock a light punch to the shoulder. "You're a hundred times better than that stuffy brother of yours." He threw on a friendly smile. Maybe he didn't really know all that much about Kwan's brother, but considering the jock never held a gun to his face, that gave Kwan major points on the cool scale. But Danny knew what it was like to constantly compare himself to an older sibling and always feel like he came up short in every category. If he could make Kwan feel a little bit better with that simple comment, then he would say it a million more times.

"Thanks, Fenton." A smile pulled at Kwan's mouth.

"Trying to work your way through all the jocks, Fentonsogay," Calvin jeered with a hard shove to Danny's back that sent the raven haired man stumbling right into Kwan.

"You know, at least Dash was somewhat clever with his names," Danny grumbled, turning a glare onto the bully.

"Yeah, well, I don't see your girlfriend here to save you this time." Calvin smirked as he cracked the knuckles on one hand. He probably thought it made him look more threatening that way.

Danny swallowed because it was a little intimidating, especially when he couldn't use his digital powers to fight back, and even more when he saw a few of the other jocks at Calvin's back, all looking ready to join in on beating up the loser. A hand grabbed hold of his arm and tugged him backward. Danny blinked in surprise as Kwan blocked off his fellow jocks from their harassment of a loser.

"Back off, Williams," Kwan said tiredly. "We were just discussing something for class so stop being such a dick."

Calvin smirked as he stepped up close to his teammate. "So do you and Dash make up the bread in a loser sandwich?"

"Is there a problem here, gentlemen?"

Danny didn't miss the tension in Kwan's body when they heard the voice of his brother. He turned to see the man, the GIW agent, standing before the group of jocks. Kwan's brother folded his arms over his broad chest as he narrowed his brown eyes at them. Danny swallowed, his throat constricting as his earlier panic returned. While the agent's attention remained on the jocks, Danny slowly inched away from the gathering.

"No problem, Sir," Calvin said as he hugged an arm around Kwan, who didn't look like he enjoyed that any more than being near his brother. "Just having a nice chat with my buddy here." The grin on his face couldn't have looked more fake if he tried. With no one even noticing his presence, Danny slipped around the corner and hurried toward the cafeteria for lunch.

"You look like you've seen better days," Tucker said when he met up with Danny before his friend could reach the cafeteria.

"This day couldn't possibly get worse," Danny muttered, rubbing his hands over his face. "Guess who my new computer science teacher is?" He stared blandly at his friend as Tucker shrugged without a clue. "One of the Guys in White agents." He sighed tiredly, shoulders sagging, but it felt like a relief to be able to unload his problems onto someone else instead of bottling it all up like he did previously.

Tucker patted him on the shoulder. "Life just likes to kick you around, huh?"

"Yeah, like bullying wasn't bad enough. Now I have viruses and the GIW to worry about. Not to mention my parents." Sometimes, Danny really wasn't sure how he survived. He frowned down at his hands. The last fight almost was the end of him if Vlad hadn't stepped in to save him. He sighed at the memory of that. Vlad came off as a total jerk during their first encounter with all those lies he spewed out, but maybe he wasn't all that bad. Not when he would actually jump in to save Danny, even if it was for some selfish reason like keeping his own skin safe.

"And don't forget Valerie," Tucker added after they entered the cafeteria, nodding his head toward the table where Sam was already sitting with Valerie at the trio's usual table. "What are you going to do about that? I mean, you were the one that pushed us to try to be friends with her."

"That was before she ended up with that weird suit and started having a vendetta against me." Danny frowned as he stared at the two women chatting. "It was kind of my fault her dad lost his job. I was fighting a virus that attacked where he worked. I had no idea that her dad would lose his job." He still felt really guilty about that, especially after everything stabbing word Vlad said to him before the football game last Friday.

"Yeah, but, I mean," Tucker rubbed at the back of his neck as they headed for the line to grab their lunch, "that wasn't completely your fault. You were trying to fight off a virus. She can't blame it all on you."

"Try telling her that," Danny grumbled then snapped his gaze toward his friend. "I don't mean that. Don't say anything to her."

"Dude!" Tucker gasped with an offended look. "Do you really think I'm going to spread your secret around?"

Danny dropped his gaze with a stab of guilt. "No. I'm sorry. I'm just no used to having someone else in the know. You know? I've been keeping all of this to myself for the last three years. It's... weird that someone else knows now. Well, two someone else. But it's a good weird." He grinned at Tucker, thankful to have such a good friend. It really was a great relief that Tucker didn't completely freak out or get so upset that he didn't want to talk to Danny anymore after finding out the truth.

"Two?" Tucker frowned, came awfully close to pouting, as he picked up a tray.

"Remember how I told you my parents were apparently old friends with Vlad Masters?" Danny heaved a sigh as his friend nodded. "The whole reason he was even there on Friday was because of me. He knows what I am. Please don't pull the friend card." He could see it in Tucker's eyes. His friend was gearing up to complain about Danny telling some random man about his powers when he wasn't even going to tell his friends. "He knew when we first met that I wasn't just some run of the mill program."

"Yeah, but-" Tucker tried to argue, but he snapped his mouth shut, his eyes widening somewhat as he stared at something behind his friend.

"Mr. Fenton."

At Lancer's voice, Danny winced, shoulders hunching up. He turned around slowly to face his teacher. "Yes, Sir?" He gulped nervously as he tried to think of what he might have done to get the man's attention.

"I'd like to have a word with you." Lancer placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, guiding his student from the cafeteria.

"Uh, Sir," Danny's gaze darted about the hall as they walked, heading in the direction of Lancer's office. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not at all," Lancer assured him with a pat on the shoulder. "I simply had something I wished to discuss with you."

When they reached his office, Lancer held open the door. Danny hesitated, glancing at his teacher nervously before he entered the office and took a seat in one of the chairs before the desk. After he closed the door, Lancer walked over to lean against his desk, gazing down at the teenager wiping sweaty palms on his jeans.

"You have no need to be nervous," Lancer said in an unusually gentle tone that only made Danny feel a little more tense about this whole situation. "I merely wanted to discuss your future options. I saw that you only sent a college application to Amity University." He frowned in that displeased way he usually did.

"Uh, well," Danny reached up to rub the back of his neck. "It kind of seemed like my only option. My grades haven't exactly been all that great, and really it's a miracle if I can even graduate." 

"I'm well aware of your academic accomplishments." Lancer folded his arms. "And I'm very proud of the improvement you've made so far this year." One of those rare smiles graced his face. "But your college application wasn't my entire reason for this chat. I wanted to know what plans you've made for the future."

"Plans?" Danny winced when he heard the crack in his voice. He shrugged awkwardly in his uncertainty. "Right now, I've mostly just been focusing on graduating." He shrank under Lancer's stare. The future wasn't exactly something he spent a lot of time considering. When did he even had the time between homework and virus attacks?

Lancer sighed tiredly, like that was the same thing he heard from his students all the time. "Have you considered something in the field of literature? Or you could go into a number of fields involving writing. There's journalism. You could write for a newspaper or a magazine. You could become a fine novelist if you chose."

Danny blinked several times. "I hadn't really thought about it." He stared at his teacher, surprised that the man was so concerned about his future. None of his other teachers would ever think to pull him aside and talk to him about what career he might like to pursue. Though now that Lancer mentioned it, a career in writing didn't sound too bad, especially after having the crushing news that his grades were too bad to make it into the space program after high school thrust upon him. He felt some relief wash over him with the spark of an idea in mind about his future. A new dream to pursue. He could even discuss ideas with Ghost Writer sometimes.

"If you're interested," Lancer reached behind him and picked up a pamphlet from his desk, "there's an internship at a publishing house this summer. I have some friends there and can pull a few strings, if you like. You can learn a thing or two working there. Maybe it will inspire you and help you find a career path."

Danny stared at the pamphlet presented to him and felt - He wasn't entirely sure how to describe it, feeling several different emotions at once. Happiness, relief, deep appreciate for his teacher. "I'll think about it, Sir." Danny smiled as he accepted the pamphlet.

"Don't put it off until the last minute," Lancer warned. "There's a limited number of summer intern slots, and plenty of other people will be trying to get them."

Danny nodded as he stood up. "I'll be sure to decide soon." He paused before turning to exit the office. "And thanks, Sir. I really appreciate this." He held up the pamphlet.

"You're welcome." Lancer walked over to the door to open it for his student. "It's been a pleasure having you in class."

Danny bit his tongue before he could say something like "I bet you liked Jazz more." That was the kind of thinking that always left him feeling like a disappointment to his family. Smiling at his teacher, Danny stepped toward the door when he froze. An eerie high pitched noise rang in his ear, making his brain scream in agony, and he wondered why Lancer wasn't reacting at all to that painful sound that made his eardrums feel like they would rupture at any moment.

Then he was falling. Danny tried to catch himself, correct his balance, but his body refused to respond to his commands. He hit the ground, or he thought he did. He couldn't really tell with his body feeling numb all over. Lancer's face appeared before him, the man's mouth moving like he was shouting, but Danny could hear nothing beyond the scream in his ears. Darkness crept into his vision, eating away from the outer edges. The blackness reminded him too much of the time he fell into the under level. Panic set in as Danny begged, screamed at, his body to respond in some way, any small way.


	31. Chapter 31

Lancer was quite pleased with how well his conversation with Daniel went. Some students merely ignored his advice whenever he tried to talk to them about their future and possible career choices. He was well aware of Daniel's aspirations to join the space program and become an astronaut, but with his grades, that option wasn't realistically available to the young man. Having a dream crushed like that could be a devastating blow to anyone, and Lancer knew the struggle of finding a new dream to replace the old one. He hoped by presenting Daniel with the opportunity to work at the publishing house for the summer internship that he would help Daniel find a new dream to strive toward.

"It's been a pleasure having you in class," Lancer said, truly meaning it as he took hold of the doorknob. For the briefest moments, there was that look on Daniel's face, that look that Lancer saw all too often, especially when it came to younger siblings of past students. Lancer saw that look from Kwan more often than he liked, and with Jing Long back within the school's halls, Lancer expected to see it even more, which made him rather angry. Kwan was a smart young man, but it was obvious that his brother's shadow kept him from seeing himself as anything but inferior.

Daniel lived under a similar shadow when it came to his sister. Jazz was quite the brilliant young woman, but the genius of her and her parents left people whispering about Daniel, wondering murmurs of how he could share the same genes as the rest of the Fentons when he didn't share in their brilliance. It was a point that filled Lancer with anger. He could see that Daniel was smart. His grades could have been outstanding if he applied himself to his schoolwork sooner.

When Daniel smiled, Lancer was relieved that no bitter words about not being as smart as his sister left the man's mouth. He would feel the need to sit Daniel down for another discussion if he started hearing his student mumble that he wasn't intelligent like the rest of his family. He twisted the knob to open the door as Daniel stepped forward.

That was when it happened. Daniel's whole body tensed up, freezing in mid step as a brief hint of terror passed in his bright blue eyes before the life cut out completely. It was like watching a movie in slow motion as the man's legs gave out under him and Daniel tilted back, falling to the ground. Lancer couldn't react, couldn't fathom what exactly happened. Daniel's body hit the floor of his office with a thud, remaining there unmoving.

He jerked into action, dropping to his knees beside his student. "Daniel!" Lancer shouted in alarm as he gripped the man's shoulders and gave him a shake. Daniel didn't move, didn't respond. His dead eyes stared up at the ceiling, and his lips were slightly parted. Bending over, Lancer held his ear near Daniel's mouth but felt no breath and saw no rise of the man's chest. Panic rushed through him as he tried to understand what happened o his student. People didn't simply pass out like that for no reason! Especially not young, healthy men like Daniel.

Lancer checked for a pulse, pressed his head to Daniel's chest in search of any sign of life, but he felt no gentle pulse beneath his fingers against his student's neck and heard no beat of a heart within the man's chest. He stared at the young man, his mind failing him on what to do in this situation. Daniel couldn't have-

No! Lancer refused to believe Daniel could simply drop dead in the blink of an eye. Something must have happened to cause Daniel to - He couldn't think of a word to describe it. Getting to his feet, he grabbed the phone from his desk. When he brought the receiver to his ear, he heard dead silence, not even a dial tone. Slamming the phone back into its cradle, Lancer tried his coat hanging off the chair at his desk. He dug into pocket for his cell phone. Dialing for the hospital, he frowned when realized the phone was dead too.

Lancer glanced toward Daniel's still form. He needed to make contact with someone that could help the young man. And quickly! He walked toward the door of his office, desperate to save Daniel. Until he opened the door, he didn't know about commotion that was taking place in the hall. Lancer frowned at the students milling about, murmuring among themselves. Several moments passed before he realized the overhead lights were out all along the hall.

"Sir," Kwan's brother said when he spotted Lancer and quickly approached the man.

"What's happening?" Lancer demanded in a strong, commanding voice as he kept his body blocking the man's sight of what lay in his office. He knew all too well about Jing's career choice to join the Guys in White, and that fact made the man's presence in the high school all the more suspicious. Perhaps it was only his own silly paranoia, but Lancer didn't feel comfortable speaking to Jing about Daniel's body virtually shutting down on itself.

"Everything just shut down suddenly," Jing explained, frowning as he glanced around at the students.

Lancer's green eyes narrowed a fraction at the term Jing used. Many others might have simply said it was a blackout or a power outage. The fact that Jing said it "shut down" unsettled Lancer. "Have the students and faculty gather in the gym," he instructed, thinking quickly of how to handle the situation, though his mind was still panicking over Daniel's condition. "Hopefully, this is just a small fluke and things will be up and running again in no time. But for the time being, I'd like to keep panic from spreading through the entire school. Let them know we're working on fixing the problem. We might have to release the students early today if we can't get power back within an hour." By that time, the school day would be mostly over anyway.

Jing nodded, his hand rising halfway to a salute before he remembered he was at a high school, not the Guys in White headquarters. Once Jing was on his way, directing students toward the gym as he went to tell the other teachers what to do, Lancer let a shudder run through his body. The GIW. He never did like them, and having one of their agents undercover in his school made him uneasy.

What did the GIW hope to find by lurking within the high school? Lancer supposed there was a larger outbreak of virus attacks recently at the high school. Perhaps it was a logical move for the GIW to station an agent at the high school to be on scene at the next attack. But he still didn't like it.

Now that he had that situation dealt with, Lancer's mind turned back to Daniel as he watched the students filing off toward the gym. He could try taking Daniel to the school's nurse, but he didn't think this was the sort of thing with which the woman would know how to deal. Students didn't generally collapse and appear almost like they were dead every day. He needed to find a phone that worked and contact the hospital. But what if this blackout extended over the whole town? Even if he got Daniel to the hospital, they might not be able to do anything to help him with their equipment shut down.

That term again! It seemed to keep cropping up, standing out like a sore thumb in his mind like its meaning was important. Lancer frowned as he turned back to Daniel. The young man's body literally shut down, and the whole school went into a blackout. They seemed like two random, completely unconnected events. Except that their timings were too close together to write them off as unrelated. But it didn't make any sense either way he looked at it. Why would the blackout make Daniel collapse? Why would Daniel collapsing cause the school's blackout?

"I can't believe those stupid Fentons," grumbled Calvin, his voice drifting in through the door that remained cracked open. "Did you see that stupid looking thing they brought in?"

"Yeah." One of the other jocks, Clark if Lancer remembered correctly, snorted. "And then they knock out the power? What geniuses!"

"Hey, maybe we'll get to go home early," Tony put in, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

"Guess the Fentons are good for at least something," Calvin said with some cruelty in his voice. "I guess we should be lucky that thing didn't blow up the school instead."

Lancer closed the door to his office, feeling a bit shaky after hear that conversation. His eyes snapped toward Daniel. The man's parents brought in some device that caused the school to lose power? That sounded to him like some sort of EMP. But why would Daniel collapse after an EMP?

Slowly, almost scared of the thoughts twisting through his mind, Lancer approached his fallen student. He knelt down beside him again and stared into those empty blue eyes. An EMP would knock out anything electronic within a given range, but that still didn't explain Daniel collapsing. Unless - Lancer squinted his eyes, trying to imagine Daniel with different features. It was somewhat difficult trying to transpose glowing green eyes over blue and snow white hair over raven.

" _Jekyll and Hyde_ ," Lancer whispered, almost not wanting to believe it. But if he was right, taking Daniel to a hospital certainly wasn't going to help him. What did doctors know about programs or viruses? And with a GIW agent _and_ Fenton's parents present at the school, no doubt in search of viruses and more importantly wanting their hands on that mysterious rogue program, Daniel was in a dangerous position.

Lancer grabbed hold of his student's shoulders and gave him a shake. "Daniel," he snapped urgently. "Daniel, if you can hear me, you've got to snap out of this." If Jing or the Fentons entered his office and started asking questions, Lancer didn't know how to explain Daniel laying there seeming, for no better term, dead. He _needed_ Daniel to wake up to help keep him safe.

But Daniel remained unresponsive, like some soulless doll.

Lancer's jaw clenched painfully at that imagery in his head. His hands moved to take Daniel's face within them as he leaned closer, glaring into those dead blue eyes. "Listen to me, Daniel," he said in an eerily calm voice. "I may not fully understand everything that happened to you that made you this way. But there is something I _do_ know. You aren't just some program. You're alive. You're human. You have a soul. You don't bow to the laws and restrictions of coding like a program or virus. You have the potential to become something amazing. So stop slacking! Wake up, Daniel!"

He panted, not even realizing the growing loudness in his voice until his office fell silent again beyond the sound of each heavy exhale. His eyes stared, unblinking, at his student, waiting for some sign of life within the young man. Prayers ran through his head, begging for Daniel to somehow hear his words, that they could give him the encouragement he needed to overcome the shut down from the EMP. The time ticked by slowly, and Lancer's heart sank as his hope started to falter and fade. He believed in his students. But what did it all mean when his student didn't believe in himself?

"Daniel, please," Lancer begged as he heard footsteps nearing his office. His breath stopped, catching in his throat and building up like a lump that choked him as he hoped that no one would enter his office.

A flicker. It almost made him laugh out loud with hope. A dim hint of life tried to break through those dead eyes. Bright green spots glowed through the blue.

"Yes! That's it, Daniel! You can do it!" Lancer gasped out, trying to keep quiet in case anyone outside his office should be listening.

When his student's eyes slipped shut, Lancer's panic returned. He thought - Lancer's hands dropped away from Daniel's face as they curled into fists. It looked like Daniel was starting to break through his body shutting down, and Lancer lowered his head as his remaining hope dwindled. This wasn't how he saw things going. Daniel was supposed to graduate. He was going to go to college. Lancer expected to one day walk into a bookstore and pick up a book written by his student. Daniel wasn't supposed to lay here inert within his office like a corpse because of a blasted EMP!

Light suddenly blared before him, and Lancer fell back, holding his arms before his eyes to shield them from the sudden brightness. _Phantom Tollboth_! What was going on? After the light faded, Lancer dared to lower his arms and glance about his office. Standing before him, the rogue program known as Phantom gazed down at his white gloved hands, green eyes wide with shock.

"I did it." Phantom laughed out shakily, fingers slowly curling and straightening again like he couldn't believe his body could move again. His head lifted suddenly, remembering something, and slowly his gaze turned onto his teacher. Fear flashed through his eyes as he backed up a step from the older man.

Lancer stared, his mouth hanging open. He thought it, the theory in his head when he urged Daniel to overcome the EMP, but some part of him still denied the truth that now so painfully obviously presented itself before him. All this time, ever since his first appearance, Daniel was Phantom. Lancer struggled with that knowledge, not understanding how Daniel could have come by that power. Except that it made perfect sense given who Daniel's parents were. It was only logical that if Phantom had a human identity that it would be Daniel.

"Lancer, Sir, um-" Phantom glanced anywhere around the office except at the man. He was clearly seeking some sort of lie to spin but fell short.

Lancer stood up and approached the young man. "I want to keep you safe," he said, placing his hands on Phantom's shoulders. "I won't ask questions. I'll keep your secrets."

A knock came from the door. "Mr. Lancer, Sir?" Jing questioned as the doorknob squeaked as it turned. "Are you all right? I thought I saw something flash under the door."

"But right now, you need to get out of here," Lancer said quickly in a whisper. "The Guys in White. Your parents. They're in the school at this very moment. I don't want them finding you." Unfortunately, with the power still out, Phantom wouldn't be able to jump back into the NetZone and escape.

"I-" Phantom hesitated, glancing toward the door as it inched open. He nodded sharply as he turned toward Lancer. "Thanks, Sir." Then he darted toward the window in Lancer's office. In seconds, Phantom had the window pried open and hopped out it before the door to Lancer's office could fully open.

"Sir?" Jing inquired as his brown eyes glanced around the room, no doubt seeking the source that caused the flash of light.

"Do you have some business with me, Jing?" Lancer demanded, placing his hands on his hips as he glared at the young man. "Didn't I tell you to go to the gym with everyone else until we can determine the cause of this blackout?"

Jing frowned, and Lancer didn't miss that hint of suspicion. "Then perhaps you'd like to know that the Fentons arrived on campus and used an EMP."

"Is there a time estimate for when we'll have power back?"

Jing shook his head. "The Fentons couldn't give an estimated time frame."

Lancer sighed. "Don't they know this is a school?" He ushered Jing out of his office as he closed the door behind him. "I suppose we'll have to go make an announcement to the students now." He didn't let Jing leave his sight for fear that the man would immediately go in search of Phantom. He wouldn't be surprised if Jing had some sort of alert to inform him when viruses, and especially Phantom, showed up. When he decided to become a teacher, he never imagined this was the sort of thing with which he would deal. Daniel was Phantom. The thought kept circling his mind, and he felt more exhausted than usual.


	32. Chapter 32

Tucker frowned as he watched Danny walk off with their teacher, wondering what Lancer wanted with his best friend. He almost felt a surge of panic that Lancer somehow figured it out, or overheard their conversation, and knew the truth about Danny being Phantom. A weak laugh escaped him as he selected what was available in the cafeteria for his lunch. There was no way for Lancer to know anything about Danny's secret. The teacher must have some other reason for wanting to speak with Danny, though he couldn't think of a reason at the moment.

With his lunch on tray in hand, Tucker crossed the cafeteria to the usual table and took his seat across from Sam and the newest addition to their group Valerie. He felt a little nervous about this arrangement. Since finding out the truth about Danny, which still blew his mind away because whoa! Tucker couldn't shake that feeling that he might slip up around Sam and reveal the truth to her. Honestly, he thought it would be best if they simply told Sam about what happened. It would, at the very least, get Sam to lay off the whole "hunt down Phantom" thing she was so bent on doing. But Danny insisted that he didn't want Sam to know anything about his being Phantom.

Now Tucker had to worry about being the one to spill the beans to Valerie, who now had the means to hunt down and potentially seriously hurt, if not kill, Danny. He was terrified for his friend, much more so than simply about Danny's own parents and the Guys in White wanting to capture him. Both Fentons and GIW weren't exactly the best at containing a virus. Valerie, on the other hand, seemed like she was very much capable in taking down her enemy, if his first encounter with her dressed that black and red suit was any indication. A cold sweat ran down the back of his neck as Tucker remembered just how close Valerie came to exacting her vengeance upon Danny if he wasn't there to distract her. He doubted that ploy would work a second time.

"Where's Danny?" Sam asked the moment Tucker sat down at their table.

Tucker's green eyes darted toward Valerie, who seemed as curious about the answer as Sam. "Lancer dragged him off to his office." He shrugged then shoveled a forkful of the mushy brown stuff into his mouth. "Didn't say why though. I don't think Danny's done anything bad, so he can't be in trouble." He swallowed his mouthful.

"Ugh! Does he always eat like that?" Valerie made a face of disgust.

"Yeah," Sam grumbled flatly. "Try looking at that practically every day since second grade."

"I so don't envy you." Valerie patted Sam on the back.

"I'm right here." Tucker frowned at the two women. He enjoyed hanging out even when it was only with Sam. They still had fun together whenever Danny was absent, which made a lot of sense now that he knew that Danny was secretly Phantom. Tucker wondered if this was how Sam constantly felt when hanging out with him and Danny. That sort of out of place feeling when the other two started talking and it almost felt like he was being cut out of the conversation, even when they were talking about him. "And there's nothing wrong with the way I eat," he added grumpily.

"Yeah," Valerie said, rolling her eyes. "Because talking with a disgusting mouthful of food is always the way to a woman's heart."

"I've been trying to tell him for years, but he never listens," Sam said before taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Hey! Any lady would be lucky to get with this," Tucker protested as he swept an arm up and down his body to indicate himself.

"Slumming it with the losers?" Ryan snickered as he passed their table with some of his other jock buddies. The man was a dusty haired jock with the usual broad shoulders and large muscles that often meant his brain was probably the size of a pebble. Tucker noted that Dash and Kwan weren't within the group, but neither was Calvin, which was a great relief.

"Cram it, Ryan!" Tucker got to his feet, trying to look as intimidating as possible when he was several inches shorter than the jock. He gulped as those brown eyes glared at him. When he saw the fist pulling back, he regretted his choice and winced in wait for the punch that was sure to come. He heard a slap of flesh against flesh, but when he didn't feel the fist connect with his face like he expected, Tucker tentatively opened his eyes that he clamped shut on instinct.

"You do remember I kicked your ass in that tournament, right?" Valerie questioned, her hand tightly gripping the fist that she caught just inches from Tucker's face. Ryan actually paled when she reminded him of that fact. "If you don't want me to do it again in front of your buddies, I suggest you just walk away." Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"How _nicely_ you fit right in with the losers," Ryan growled as he yanked his hand free from Valerie's hold. He walked off in a huff with his friend following after him.

"Wow," Tucker breathed, blinking in surprise at the woman across the lunch table from him.

"Here's a tip. If you're going to stand up to a jock, you should know how to defend yourself." Valerie returned to her seat on the bench.

Tucker wanted to say something back in return, argue that he could stick up for himself, even though that wasn't really true. He didn't have weird digital powers like Danny, and he wasn't an expert in karate like Valerie. If Valerie didn't jump in right then, he probably would have found himself on the ground sporting a terrible black eye or a broken nose for the attempt to stand up to the jock. He frowned to himself, thinking what a fool he must look like in Valerie's eyes.

The doors to the cafeteria burst open with a bang that drew everyone's attention to the pair of adults that appeared. Tucker groaned when he recognized Danny's parents in their jumpsuits with the hoods pulled up over their heads. Danny's mother held some strange device in her hands. When she pressed a switch on the top with her thumb, it almost seemed like nothing happened until all the lights shut off overhead.

"No need to be alarmed students of Casper High," Jack said in his loud booming voice as the murmurs of confusion started like a wave through the cafeteria. "We've classified the school as a level nine contamination. Until we've cleared the school of viruses, we've decided to shut down all electronics via an EMP. Now for those of you who don't know-"

"Jack," Maddie cut in, and Tucker could only guess that her eyes held a certain amount of irritation behind the goggles. "They don't need to know all the details."

Tucker tuned out what the Fentons were saying, as usual whenever they got started on their quest to capture viruses. His attention turned to Valerie, his eyes darting toward her. He didn't miss her trying to subtly check the watch upon her wrist that she wore all the time now, he noticed, when she never did previously. He guessed that was likely the source of her weird virus-like suit that she gained after randomly being drawn into the NetZone with Danny. From the scowl on the woman's face, Tucker assumed the EMP shorted out her suit.

"What's that?" Sam piped up when the two adults passed by their table. She pointed at something strapped to the waist of Jack's bright orange jumpsuit. Beside the large man, Maddie sighed because like always the question would open her husband up to his usual blathering about their inventions.

"Glad you asked, Samantha," Jack said happily.

"Sam."

"This," Jack continued, ignoring the correction as he held up his invention, "is the Fenton Thermos." He beamed with pride, though the three teenagers merely stared at him like he had gone nuts. A thermos didn't exactly sound like the greatest of inventions. Actually, it sounded pretty lame. "With this, we'll be able to capture and contain any viruses on the loose outside the NetZone. Just get it lined up in our sights," he pointed the end of the thermos at the table, "and the virus will be sucked in." He grinned at his ingenious idea. "We think anyway."

Tucker frowned at that vote of confidence. That hint of doubt didn't make it sound like the invention had a high chance of success. But he remembered Danny's explanation of how he ended up with digital powers, and Tucker felt unsettled by the invention. What if they managed to suck Danny into that thing? Tucker gulped at that thought, and a jolt raced through him. What would an EMP do to Danny?

"Where are you going?" Valerie questioned when she noticed Tucker moving away from their table.

"Uh, bathroom," Tucker answered, wincing internally as he hoped no one would hear that slight crack in his voice. He needed to get to Danny! His friend's parents might be distracted right now in the cafeteria, but that GIW agent that Danny mentioned earlier was still elsewhere. What if the agent came across Danny after the EMP did something to him? Tucker knew he had nothing to base his assumption on, but he couldn't risk not jumping to the worst case scenario. He would rather be wrong and find Danny safe than to ignore it and find out something horrible happened to his friend.

"That can wait," Jack said. "We have viruses to hunt!"

"No, I really don't think it can." Tucker pretended like he had to go to the bathroom really badly, even if it made him look like an idiot. "I think I ate something that went bad."

"Ew," Valerie groaned.

"Another reason to stay away from meat," Sam said with a sense of smugness.

Tucker only offered half a glower then he darted out of the cafeteria, like he was in a rush for the bathroom, before anyone could stop him. He was five steps out of the cafeteria, panic racing through him, when a hand grabbed his arm. The person jerked him back a step, and Tucker gulped as he stared up into the constantly angry glare of the gym teacher Tetslaff.

"You shouldn't be running in the hallways," Tetslaff said in that irritatingly stiff and commanding way teachers had when sneering down their noses at students for disobeying the rules. "Please head directly to the gym. Until we've figured out the cause of this little power outage, we're having students gather in the gym."

"Cause?" Tucker blinked at the woman. "It was the EMP that Danny's parents set off," he explained, not thinking much about it.

"That would be the Fentons?" Tetslaff frowned when Tucker nodded. "I should have known they caused this," she grumbled, knowing whenever trouble hit, it was usually caused by Danny's parents in some way. "Anyway, you're still to head directly to the gym." Releasing her hold on Tucker's arm, the gym teacher walked off, most likely to tell everyone else about gathering in the gym until everything was resolved.

Tucker snorted at the thought of following Tetslaff's instructions. He still needed to find Danny, and the first place he thought to look was Lancer's office. Rushing through the halls, he arrived there as Lancer was stepping out of his office ushering out a man with short fuzzy hair that looked very much like another teacher and quite a bit like Kwan.

But Danny wasn't with the two teachers as they walked off in the direction of the gym. Tucker waited until they were well enough away before he approached Lancer's office. After nudging the door open, he took a glance around inside but found the office empty. Maybe the talk with Lancer was short and Danny got out of the office before the EMP hit. But Tucker felt clueless where to look for his friend next. He didn't pass Danny on the way from the cafeteria.

Why wouldn't Danny head straight back to the cafeteria after the talk with Lancer? Tucker pondered that question as he searched the school for his friend. Teachers were still directing students toward the gym, probably still trying to decide how to handle things with the power out throughout the entire school. Tucker kept out of sight to avoid getting swept into the flow of students. He spied Sam and Valerie being led from the cafeteria at one point. Both women didn't look too happy with being carted off, especially Sam.

Tucker turned the corner and rammed into someone. Managing not to tumble to the ground after the encounter, he snapped his gaze toward the person the bumped into him. "Danny!" He pulled his friend in a hug, relief flooding through him when he found his friend alive and well. "Where were you? I tried Lancer's office the moment your parents used the EMP."

Danny glanced about the hall quickly, though it was quite empty at that point. Then he grabbed Tucker's hand and dragged his friend into the nearest boys bathroom. After a quick check to make sure no one else was in there, Danny locked the door to the bathroom then turned on his friend.

"Lancer knows," Danny stated in a quiet voice, but there was an intensity in his blue eyes as he stared at his friend.

"What?" Tucker shouted, gawking his friend. His minds raced at the implications of those two simple words. What did that mean for his friend? Danny hadn't even trusted his best friends with the secret about his powers. How could they trust their teacher to keep the secret? There was a GIW agent _and_ Danny's parents in the school at that moment! What if Lancer let something slip around either of them? Tucker thought he was starting to hyperventilate with the panic rising in him.

"Tuck, breathe." Danny grabbed hold of his friend's shoulders and shook him.

Tucker wondered why Danny wasn't freaking out even more about this. "How did he even find out?"

With a sigh, Danny ran a hand through his raven locks with a tired look in his eyes. "I was just about to leave his office when that EMP hit, and I just," he shrugged, his hands moving awkwardly in his struggle to explain what exactly took place, "shut down." Terror was the only word to describe the look that came over Danny's face when he said those words.

"What do you mean shut down?" Tucker was almost too scared to know the answer.

"Like I collapsed. I couldn't move or feel or hear or even see." Danny paced around the bathroom. "But then something broke through it all. It was Lancer, and I couldn't really pick out everything that he was saying, but I think he was trying to encourage me. And then I just," he stopped pacing and threw up his arms, "I woke up! It was like stepping right back into my parents' Material Portal and being zapped with electricity again. I could feel it surging through me, charging up my system so that I could wake up and move again."

"So," Tucker said slowly as he tried to digest everything Danny said, "what exactly does that mean?"

"I think Lancer will keep my secret." Some relief washed through Danny's expression. "He told me to get out of his office so that I wouldn't get caught by the Guys in White. I think I can trust him with this."

"That's great." Tucker decided it was probably good to have a teacher that they could trust with this secret. If they were going to have to trust one, that was. "But," he frowned, "you're going to have to be really careful now. I mean, if your parents can just use an EMP and knock you out, your secret isn't going to be safe for very long."

The fear returned to Danny's eyes. "I know."

Danny's voice sounded small and distant, and Tucker realized for the first time since learning his friend's secret the type of fear he lived with every day. Danny's parents wanted to capture his other half. They wanted to experiment on it and discover the secrets behind the viruses and why they could act on their own, beyond what their programming dictated. They wanted to learn of how viruses came by humanoid appearances and the ability to escape the NetZone. If they actually got their hands on Phantom - Tucker felt a chill, shuddering at the thought of what would happen to his friend.

"Maybe I can whip up something that can counteract an EMP," Tucker suggested, though he had his doubts. How could he block something that shutdown tech by using tech? That didn't sound like something that would be possible, but he would try anything if it meant helping his best friend.

"Thanks, Tuck." Danny smiled. "I guess we should go sneak into the gym with everyone else. I don't want any suspicion turned on me because I was absent if they did a roll call."

"Who would ever think you could be Phantom?" Tucker joked as he followed Danny out of the bathroom. Because Danny being the famous rogue Phantom program still blew his mind whenever he thought about it.


	33. Chapter 33

Danny couldn't shake the nervous feeling the next day. His parents were forced to leave the school, citing something about having no legal rights to shut down the high school through the use of an EMP to hunt down viruses. He wasn't sure of all the details since his parents were grumpy the whole night about being asked to leave, more like kicked out of, the school and allow things to return to normal the next day. Tucker explained some legal mumbo jumbo to him before class when they had a moment to talk without Sam, and now Valerie, around to overhear their discussion. There was apparently some law that stated the seizure of a facility, like a high school, wasn't allowed without some sort of paperwork and signature from the mayor that gave permission for the facility to be temporary shut down and cleansed of virus activity.

His parents were probably trying to get that paperwork done right at that moment. A level nine virus contamination sounded pretty bad, and Danny knew there was an odd increase in virus activity at the high school ever since his fall into the under level. Those spidery viruses kept cropping up like some sort of infestation within the school. Danny hoped that Tucker could pinpoint the source of the spiders. If he could take out the source, Danny thought he could eliminate the threat and that would keep his parents from trying to shut down the school again in their attempt to capture the viruses in Casper High. He didn't want his parents turning up again unexpectedly and using the EMP. Tucker said he would try to make something to counteract the EMP, and Danny hoped his friend could in case anything like yesterday happened again.

Danny still didn't know what to do about that whole thing that took place in Lancer's office. Since no one came crashing in at any point to knock him out or capture him or anything, he felt safe in his belief that Lancer would keep his secret. But the thing that was really confusing him was how he managed to overcome the shutdown of his body after the EMP.

"Ow!" The piercing of something sharp against his thumb snapped Danny out of his thoughts. He brought his thumb up his mouth, sucking on it after he stuck it with the needle. "Remind me why I have to help with making the costumes but they don't." Danny nodded his head toward the other two members of their group for theater.

Dash and Kwan were lounging back in their usual seats chatting for the duration of the class while Danny and Paulina worked on the costumes. Their script was pretty simple, so they didn't worry a whole lot about rehearsal. The lines were all pretty easy to remember, and they still had weeks left before they went around to the grade schools to perform it.

"For one, Kwan only knows how to cross-stitch," Paulina explained like that fact shouldn't be some embarrassingly dark secret for her friend. "The last time I tried to get him to help me with sewing clothes was a disaster." She sighed out in exasperation as she remembered it. "And Dash mostly only sews teddy bears."

"Teddy bears?" Danny repeated with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow. "Why would he sew teddy bears?"

Paulina shrugged as she clipped the end of the thread. "He gives them to the children at the hospital when he visits."

"And why does he visit the hospital?" Danny's brow furrowed at this bizarre new information he was learning about the jock that he used to only think was nothing but a jerk.

"Oh." Paulina blinked at him like she just realized that she let slip top secret A list information to a loser. "Sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned anything about that. Forget I said anything." She held up the pink vest that would be for Dash's pig costume. The pink slacks were already finished. "Maybe I should have agreed to being a pig. Your dress is really cute."

Danny flushed at the mention of the dress. "Don't remind me," he groaned, looking forward to when they would be done with the play and he wouldn't have to worry about looking ridiculous in the dress.

It was embarrassing enough already simply remembering when his sister used to treat him like a dress up doll and make him join her for tea parties when they were children. Their photo albums were filled with tons of pictures of him wearing dresses, and he still hated that Jazz actually showed all of them to Tucker and Sam. Sighing, he lifted the vest he was working on up to take a look at it, and he wished again that Paulina hadn't learned that he knew how to sew clothes.

His blue eyes glanced toward the pair of jocks, and he frowned as he turned to Paulina. "Hey, um," he bit his lip. "Is everything okay with Kwan?" Danny felt silly asking, and it wasn't even his place to poke his nose into the jock's business. "I mean, outside of school and stuff. With his family." What he saw when he unwittingly hacked into Kwan's webcam still bothered him.

"Why do you ask?" Paulina eyed him, not quite able to look innocently baffled by his inquiry. "If you want to know something, why don't you just ask himself yourself?"

"I did ask, but he just said things were difficult because of his brother moving back in," Danny said as he made a quick glance toward the jock. "If anything _was_ happening though, I doubt he would confess anything to me. I mean," he shrugged awkwardly, "I'm not his friend. But it's just - I-" He shook his head. "It's not my business. I know."

Paulina stared at him for a while before her mouth curved downward and her gaze slid away from him. "I guess we aren't really friends." She shrugged as her fingers traced over the smooth fabric of the pink vest. "But I thought we were all getting along pretty well since we ended up in this class together." Her brow pinched, putting wrinkles on her perfectly smooth forehead as she turned back to Danny. "Do you think we're jerks?" She chewed on her lower lip. "We dropped Valerie just because her father lost his job and she's not in the cool kids club anymore. We're bad people for caring only about our own social standing, aren't we?"

Danny nearly let the vest he was working on slip out of his hold and onto the floor. Her question shocked him, mostly because he couldn't believe Paulina would worry about something like that. "Paulina, you're like the queen of this school," he said seriously. "The most popular girl that has ever walked the halls of Casper High. Every guy in the school _dreams_ of being able to date you."

"Well," Paulina said, glancing toward the two jocks, "not every guy."

Danny's face scrunched up in confusion as he followed her gaze. "What?"

A sly smirk spread onto Paulina's face as she inched a little closer to Danny. "Did you really think Dash just up and decided to stop bullying you for absolutely no reason?"

Danny's expression slowly fell into shock as he stared at Paulina. Tucker's earlier inquiry about crushes and if he liked any guys wiggled back into his mind. Danny turned his gaze toward Dash, recalling how the jock jumped in to stop Calvin from picking on him and his claim to keep Calvin from hurting him. Was it all because Dash developed feelings for him? Danny snapped his gaze away when Dash looked in his direction. He didn't know what to do with this information.

"I don't think it would work between us," Danny said, shaking his head.

"Is this because he used to bully you? Because Dash is a real sweetheart underneath it all."

"No." Danny shook his head. "Not completely. I mean, it's nice hearing that someone likes me. I don't get that a lot. Not the whole, like, crush thing. And maybe there is a little about him having picked on me a lot. But," he sighed, not even knowing what he was saying anymore. "I never really considered, you know, liking another guy, but I just don't think Dash and I would mesh well together." He could see the sadness entering Paulina's emerald eyes at his words. "Has he ever thought about Kwan though?" He glanced at the two friends, Kwan smiling as he listened to whatever Dash was saying.

"He seems pretty hung up on you," Paulina admitted. "And Kwan, well, he's never really shown interest in anyone. Though I will say, I'm so glad his date with Star ended pretty fast. I know she's part of the A list, but sometimes I just can't stand being around her."

"Which brings us back to what we talking about," Danny said, thankful for some excuse to escape the topic about Dash having a crush on him, because that was just too weird to think about at the moment. "You're like one of the biggest trendsetters in this school. You wear something, you do something, and immediately it becomes the next big thing that spreads through the school like wildfire."

"Please!" Paulina rolled her eyes. "If I came to school wearing some hideous outfit, I'd be laughed out of the A list."

Danny shook his head. "Nope. Don't believe that. I bet you come to school in the ugliest outfit you can throw together, and everyone will follow after you like little sheep."

Paulina opened her mouth, paused to think for a moment, then grinned with a look in her eyes that made Danny worry. "I'll take that bet. But with a few changes. I bet I can get Dash and Kwan to do the same. Tomorrow. And if I succeed, you have to come to school in a dress, or skirt, and wearing your pig wig for a week."

"Why do you hate me?" Danny stared flatly at her, wishing he never said anything.

"Oh, Danny, I never hated you." The sincerity in Paulina's voice actually shocked Danny.

"All right. Then if you get them to dress up tomorrow, you have to sit with us at lunch," Danny returned. "I can't say Sam will enjoy that, but Valerie would probably be happy to talk with you again."

Paulina suddenly yanked him into a hug. "Thanks, Danny."

"Uh, you're welcome," Danny mumbled in uncertainty when she released him. Paulina actually hugged him? Tucker was going to be jealous when he told his friend about that!

When the bell rang, they put away their materials for the costumes, which were almost completed with plenty of time for them to chill out during class and practice their play at their leisure until it was time for them to actually put on their performance for the first and second graders. As they left the classroom this time, Danny was overly aware of Dash nearly brush right against him on the way out the door. He rubbed at his head, trying to make sense of that. Dash liking him as anything but a punching bag was too strange to accept.

His remaining classes passed with little incident. He entered his final class of the day, and he gulped when his gaze locked for a moment with Lancer's green eyes. But his teacher said nothing to him and let him pass by on his way to his assigned seat. Lancer taught the class like everything was normal, though Danny was certain his teacher's gaze lingered frequently on him whenever Lancer glanced around the room while talking about their current reading material. At the last bell of the day, Danny was relieved to pack up his things and leave until he heard-

"Fenton, a word," Lancer said, stopping his student before Danny could leave the classroom with everyone else.

"Is there a problem?" Danny asked nervously when his teacher closed the door. He gulped as Lancer locked the door to keep any unwanted visitors from popping in during their talk.

"We didn't get much of a chance to discuss what happened yesterday," Lancer explained as he leaned against his desk. His arms folded over his rounded belly, and he stared down his nose at his student.

"Nothing to discuss there." Danny laughed shakily as he shifted awkwardly under his teacher's gaze. "As long as you don't go around screaming it for all of Amity Park to hear, there's nothing to talk about."

Lancer frowned, his expression becoming more concerned. "Daniel, this is a huge responsibility that's been placed upon you. I want you to know that I'm here for you if you ever need someone to talk to about this."

"I'll keep that in mind, Sir. But if that's all-" Danny eyed the door.

"Please don't brush me off like that, Daniel." Lancer's firm tone jerked Danny's attention back to his teacher. "I'm very concerned about this. Daniel," he pushed away from his desk and placed his hands on his student's shoulders, "do you even understand how it pains me to know that you're out there risking your life to fight viruses? That you're getting hurt and keeping all of this a secret from everyone? There are people who care about you. Have you considered what they would feel if one of those viruses seriously injured or killed you? Do you know how much that would hurt those that love you?"

"I-" Danny hesitated, lowering his gaze. "I know that, Sir. I just - Having someone in the know about this is all very new to me. I thought keeping it secret would protect the people I care about." He sighed heavily with the strange sense of his world suddenly unraveling from meeting Vlad to Valerie getting her suit to Tucker finding out the truth. Now Lancer knew. He felt like something horrible was about to hit to blow his cover to the whole world.

"That thing yesterday," Lancer said, frowning as he recalled the incident in his office. "Does that happen often?"

Danny shook his head. "First time I've been hit with an EMP. I still don't really understand why it shut me down like that."

Lancer wrapped an arm around his body as he stroked his chin in thought. "And you obviously can't ask about this sort of thing to your parents. Is there," his mouth thinned, "anyone on the NetZone that might be able to help you understand more about what happened to you?"

Danny opened his mouth then hesitated, wondering how much he should tell Lancer. "There is," he winced, "someone like me. But we didn't exactly get off to a good start when we met. I wouldn't be surprised if he hates me. But he said something pretty awful to me when we first met, and I might not have reacted all that well to it."

"But he's like you?"

"Yeah." Danny refused to meet his teacher's gaze.

"I won't ask any details, Daniel," Lancer assured him. "But if he's like you, it might be best for you to open a line of communication with him. If he knows things about your condition, he might be able to help you figure out things you don't understand about yourself."

The corners of his mouth dipped as Danny continued staring at the floor. "Actually, that was the whole reason I went to meet him at all. He was supposed to help teach me about my powers. But then he said... stuff, and things got all messed up between us." He bit down hard on his tongue, definitely not wanting to repeat what Vlad told him about how living outside the NetZone was killing him to his teacher.

"Have you thought of things from his perspective?" Lancer returned to leaning against his desk.

"What?" Danny lifted his head to blink blankly at his teacher.

Lancer sighed tiredly. "I imagine before you showed up, he thought he was the only one with this power." He gestured to his student with one hand. "Even if he's interacted with other programs, or even viruses, he surely wouldn't feel like he belongs there. And having to keep it secret from the rest of the populace would leave him feeling rather lonely. You should understand that feeling as well. Even if you had your friends always at your side, I imagine you still felt a distance with them, not being able to talk about everything going on with you."

Danny lowered his eyes, realizing what Lancer meant. He got frustrated plenty of times when he had to keep himself from telling Tucker and Sam about his experiences with viruses and in the NetZone. Vlad had it worse, isolated in his domain on the NetZone and severing his ties with his old friends. It must have been very lonely living like that for over two decades.

"I guess I didn't really consider that. I was," Danny rubbed at the back of his neck, "just really angry about what he said. I've been acting like a real child around him ever since." He didn't realize that until Cujo forced his way between them during their glaring match after Valerie got sucked into the NetZone with him.

"My suggestion is that you try to resolve whatever issues you have with him," Lancer offered. "I know you've done quite well by yourself so far fighting as Phantom, but if this other person can help you learn anything more about what happened to you and about the things you can do with these powers, then I really think it's for the best that you talk to him. I have faith in your natural abilities, but having someone there to guide you can help you reach your potential far better than simply stumbling through things on your own."

Sometimes, Danny really hated when figures of authority were right, but he knew Lancer had a good point. Danny let his own anger blind him to the fact that he did need Vlad's help to learn more about himself and train his skills to better fight against the viruses.

"Yeah, I think I'll try talking to him right away." Danny shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Um, thanks, Mr. Lancer. For, well, everything really. I'm really glad to have you as my teacher." He had a sense of déjà vu, remembering how things ended yesterday in his teacher's office before the EMP.

Lancer smiled as he walked over to the door and unlocked it. "And I'm honored to have such a bright and wonderful student like you, Daniel."

An embarrassed blush colored Danny's cheeks as he bobbed an awkward nod to his teacher. When Lancer opened the door for him, Danny left the classroom. Having made the decision to go meet Vlad, he felt nervous about actually going through with it. He wasn't exactly the nicest person in the world to Vlad. What if the man refused to listen to an apology? Danny sighed, hoping by some miracle things would work out in the end.


	34. Chapter 34

Vlad frowned at the information displayed on the screen before him. It took him sometime to unravel the data that made up that scrap of coding he pulled from Daniel's injury. It was complex, and nothing that a human could have developed. Not a normal human anyway. It was too much like something that only a virus could create, a sophisticated coding and something that Vlad feared in the back of his mind would come about after the viruses learned the ability to hop from the NetZone into the real world. It was a trap placed on Daniel in the attack. But to what purpose?

Vlad traced the virus coding back as far as he could, and the result that glared at him from the screen left an unsettling feeling inside him. Were they truly that mad? Turning away from the screen, he began pacing before the desk in his domain. His mind ran over it again and again, trying to understand the purpose. The obvious answer, of course, always came right back to Phantom. Vlad sighed as he paused and ran a hand over his face. That was the problem with making a name for himself, becoming too big, too known. In this world, where digital beings are only seen as viruses, since programs never had the interest of attempting to leave the NetZone, Phantom could only be considered another virus that should be erased.

"This shouldn't be the life for him," Vlad mumbled tiredly as he closed the screen, growing sick of staring at the data that refused to change and give him another answer. "He should be allowed to be a carefree teenager like the rest." At the soft mew, he lowered his gaze to the white cat sitting before him on the desk. A smile tugged at his mouth as Vlad reached down and scratched her behind the ears, gaining a purr from the attention.

This wasn't the life he imagined for himself either, but it was what life dealt for him. He could rage against it all he liked, scream to the sky about the unfairness of being prisoner to the NetZone, but it would get him nowhere. Life was what it was, and he simply had to accept it. Life in the NetZone wasn't all that bad though. He could do things that normal humans could only dream of being able to do. It wasn't a full life, but at least it wasn't death. It felt like death sometimes to him over the last twenty-four years of living alone in his domain.

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Vlad stared at the firewall as the knock echoed through the emptiness of his domain. His latest security program didn't react to the presence of someone outside the firewall, which meant that it could only be one person coming to visit him. There was only one person that would visit him anyway, a fact that made him frown.

Sighing, Vlad walked over to the firewall and opened a doorway to allow the other into his home on the NetZone. The small green form of Cujo bounded happily into his domain, and thankfully, the dog didn't immediately go chasing after the cat program. His prior warning apparently took root inside them and stopped them from behaving like their living counterparts. Daniel kept his green eyes averted as he remained standing awkwardly outside the firewall.

"Well, this is a small improvement," Vlad said, folding his arms behind his back as he stared down at the snow white haired digital being. "You actually managed to knock this time. But still can't say a simple hello?" He stepped aside to allow the young man to enter.

"This-" Daniel closed his eyes, clenched his gloved hands, and took a breath before releasing it in a sigh. "This isn't exactly easy for me." He hesitated before stepping through the firewall, which sealed seamlessly behind him. A frown pulled down at the corners of his mouth as he landed his gaze upon Vlad. "We didn't get off to a very good start, and I know, in a large part, I'm to blame for that."

"I see you've picked up some manners." Vlad could see the young man was struggling with his words, but the dig came out far too easily for him. Since their first encounter, kind words were few and far between for them. It was a sad day for him when his security program had to snap him out of a downward spiral into acting like a five year old.

Daniel narrowed his eyes as he frowned. "Do you have to be such a je-" He snapped his mouth shut, taking several deep breaths through flared nostrils before he could speak again with less rage in his voice. "I'm trying to apologize," he said in a strained tone. "I didn't handle things all that well, and I was," he rolled his eyes upward as he huffed out a breath, "pretty much a little brat with the way I acted."

"Indeed, you were," Vlad agreed, his eyebrows lifting in mild surprised that the young man was able to admit it.

Annoyance flashed in the green eyes, and Daniel's jaw set tightly. "I wasn't looking at things from your perspective. But you also have to understand that having something like that said to me - Well, anyone wouldn't want to be told that they're dying. I got angry. I'm sorry for that. But you have to understand what I was feeling."

"I _do_ understand what you felt," Vlad snapped, his hand squeezing around the other wrist as he clenched his teeth. Anger washed through him as he listened to Daniel's poor attempt at an apology. "Or did you think it was a bed of roses for me when I found out the truth? Do you think it was all sunshine and lollipops while I lay there in the hospital slowly wasting away with no hope of being saved until I jumped back into the NetZone? I was furious, Daniel! I was angry for a very long time."

"I _know_!" Daniel sighed, pressing the palms of his hands into his eyes. "I know," he repeated in a softer tone as he lowered his arms. "And I was being self centered by not pausing even once to think about how _you_ felt. I was a selfish, spoiled brat only thinking about myself. I don't _like_ having to accept that part as truth."

Conflict raged in Daniel's eyes, and it gave Vlad pause to watch the struggle for acceptance. "Something happened," he said, realizing it as he stared at Daniel, brow drawing together and mouth frowning.

Daniel shifted awkwardly as he looked away. "There have been quite a few attacks at the high school recently," he explained, and the news only made Vlad more concerned with what he discovered. "My parents barged in, declaring a level nine virus contamination, and they used an EMP to shut down everything electronic."

That sounded like a natural course of action. Vlad could understand their reasoning, though it was a bit extreme without taking the proper course of action beforehand, like evacuating everyone from the area first. If a live virus was operating in the high school, they could track it down and the virus would be unable to escape after the EMP nullified their movements. But as he stared at Daniel, Vlad realized the significance of what he was trying to say.

"It shut you down as well." Vlad didn't even need to question it, and he saw the way Daniel tensed up after hearing Vlad's words. A grim look flitted across his face. That was certainly a big jolt that was sure to wake the young man out of his selfish rage and see the truth of things. Vlad hated that it had to come about through such a hard lesson. But another thought crossed his mind, and he frowned more darkly. "How did you escape that unnoticed?" Because a teenager suddenly collapsing at the exact moment an EMP went off was bound to draw suspicion, especially if, as Vlad suspected, that teenager showed no vital signs when checked.

The look in Daniel's eyes spoke volumes, and Vlad's mouth dropped open, unable to find the words to scream at him for being so stupid as to get caught, to have his secret exposed to _anyone_. Did Daniel not understand the seriousness of the situation? Did he not understand the threat it posed to _both_ of them to have someone find out what they were? Could he not fathom the danger of letting his parents and the Guys in White discover that something like them existed?

"I know this looks bad," Daniel said, holding up his arms before him and probably not understanding the severe _understatement_ of that comment. "But I trust him to keep this secret. I knew after the EMP that it would probably be wise to come and talk to you, but Lancer encouraged me to come here. He helped me escape when the Guys in White agent was seconds away from finding me in his office. He's a good guy. He's not going to tell anyone."

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't share your faith in him," Vlad said dryly.

"I don't expect you to."

"But how exactly did you manage to escape?" Vlad eyed the young man with great curiosity. "The EMP should have kept you paralyzed for quite some time, and unless this Lancer person crammed you in a closet for the duration, I don't see how you could have gotten away."

"That was another thing I wanted to discuss with you." Daniel rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "See, um. I don't really know what happened. I felt like I was back in the under level when that EMP knocked me out. Then just, this surge of electricity went through me, and I broke through the, uh, stasis, I guess you could call it."

"Interesting," Vlad murmured, placing a hand to his chin in thought over that curious tidbit. "The accident altered your biological makeup and made you mostly a digital being." Daniel's glare showed that he still didn't want to accept the fate awaiting him. "But you're not an average program or virus. Your humanity makes you unique. The digital entities of the NetZone can mimic the human form, but they would never be able to overcome an EMP. That's something that only you would be capable of doing."

"And you," Daniel returned seriously.

Vlad blinked in surprise to realize he no longer thought of himself as human in any way, shape, or form. He engrossed himself so much into the digital world of the NetZone that he tended to think his own humanity lost for good. "Yes," he agreed with barely a smile.

"There's still something else I should probably talk to you about." The awkwardness returned as Daniel shifted his weight. "It's about why I came here last time."

"Ah, yes, young Miss Gray." Vlad nodded, a smirk creeping onto his face as Daniel gaped in surprise. He walked over to the desk where the virus data remained contained. "I'm sure you recognize what this is."

Daniel stumbled briefly on his way over to the desk, and Vlad sighed inwardly at his clumsiness. "That's," he said, blinking bright green eyes at the marble sized bit of data that continued to give off the whitish green sparks, "what you pulled out of my injury." He touched a gloved hand to his left eye like the scar remained there after the virus attack.

"I've been analyzing the data from it." Vlad frowned at the sparks dancing over the bit of coding. "The virus that created this intentionally made certain that you would become a carrier for this particular," he hesitated, "virus, for lack of a better term."

"What do you mean by that?" Daniel's brow naturally pinched in his confusion.

"It means that those attacks at the high school weren't simply about you." Vlad placed a finger to Daniel's lips, silencing him before he could interrupt with another question. "Miss Gray was the perfect target for this plan. She already had cause to hate Phantom after seeing you at Axion Labs before you could hop back into the NetZone. I've seen the security feeds from that night, though your opponent only appeared as some shadowy spider like creature."

Daniel grabbed hold of Vlad's wrist and yanked the hand away from his mouth. "I didn't get a very good look at it while it was throwing me around like a ragdoll, but it was definitely not one I've ever met until now."

"Naturally, it was only recently created, though I don't think it's creators meant for it do all of this." That was a fact that disturbed Vlad. People didn't think too much about how their programs, their viruses, could evolve once unleashed into the NetZone. "That attack at the football game only served to help further Miss Gray's dislike for Phantom. Clearly since she felt it necessary to knock you out when you were trying to protect her."

"Yeah," Daniel said as he rubbed at the back of his head like he was remembering how much that hurt. "But why go through all of this? Why make Valerie hate me?"

"To use her as a pawn." Vlad sighed at Daniel's puzzled scrunching of his face. "This," he pointed at the marble of data, "was all intended to provide Miss Gray with weaponry for her to use against viruses, specifically you. The whole point is to distract you with fighting a human instead of concentrating on the viruses."

"But I don't want to fight Valerie!"

"Naturally not. But the virus doesn't know of your humanity. It thinks you're just some random program with the strange coding to fight against viruses though much different from the usual security programs." Vlad leaned against the desk as he folded his arms. "And I doubt Miss Gray will care if you don't want to fight her."

"No kidding," Daniel muttered then sighed. "She's completely out for blood, and I don't think she'll listen if I try to explain anything to her."

"Of course. She sees you as an enemy. Much like the Guys in White and your parents only see Phantom as another virus." Vlad paused, wincing internally when he saw the flash of pain wash through Daniel's eyes. "I only mean-"

"No," Daniel stopped him, raising a hand. "It's fine. I hear it from my parents often enough at home." He frowned miserably with his eyes lowered. That look actually made Vlad's heart hurt, only able to imagine how much it pained Daniel to hear those words directly from his parents. "You mentioned something about the virus' creators," Daniel said, shifting the conversation away from that uncomfortable topic. "What were they intending to achieve with this virus?"

Vlad stared at the young man for a brief moment, lost in his thoughts before returning to the more important topic. "The Guys in White, I'm certain, expected the virus to merely target you and acquire you so that they could perform their research on you."

Daniel nodded until it hit him. His wide eyes snapped toward Vlad as his mouth worked open and shut, too shocked to speak at first. "The Guys in White?" he questioned with a slight crack in his voice. "They created this thing just to come after me?"

"There's a price to pay with fame, Daniel. Especially when your image is seen in a bad light by those with the capability to do something about you."

"So what happened?" Daniel inquired, looking rather distraught over this news. "Clearly, the Guys in White never intended to get a human involved in this. And certainly wouldn't want her ending up with that suit thing she has now."

"It escaped." Vlad sighed, shaking his head at the organization for their continued ineptitude. "They've kept it very hush hush. Only the top level agents know anything about it, and of course, the people that designed it. It would be quite embarrassing for the public to learn that the Guys in White accidentally let this virus out into the NetZone. Once it escaped from them, it started to evolve." His mouth thinned, liking that fact less and less.

"And the suit?" Daniel cringed back with worry. "Will it harm Valerie?"

"From what I've decoded from this," Vlad pointed to the scrap of virus data, "the suit merely coats her with data, giving her the ability to control it and produce weapons to fight against viruses and protects her should she enter the NetZone somehow. It doesn't look like it will cause her any long term damage, but I still think it wise if we figure out a way to remove it from her. While it _looks_ harmless, that doesn't necessarily mean it is harmless. If the suit were to evolve in some manner-"

"Got it," Daniel cut off the explanation. "Best scenario: eliminate her suit." He nodded sharply in determination. Hesitation surfaced as he glanced away. "Um, there was another reason to come visit you."

Vlad waited patiently, having suspected something of that nature.

"Do you think," Daniel chewed on his lip, scratching absently behind one ear, "you could train me? Valerie's really good at karate, and after our last fight, I clearly need to learn how to fight better. Especially shields, since I can't seem to get those to be strong enough to protect myself. Oh, and that healing thing! Because that would really come in handy."

An amused smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Daniel, you only ever had to ask."


	35. Chapter 35

Paulina peeked into the bedroom and grinned when she spotted the blonde girl sitting on her bed with a notebook in her lap. "Hey, Lily," she greeted with a bright smile as she entered the room. She walked over to the bed as the girl looked up, tugging headphones off her head. "What are you working on?"

Lily flushed lightly as she hugged the notebook to her chest. "Nothing."

"Oh, come on," Paulina urged as she poked at the younger girl's foot. Whenever her friend's sister got all shy like that, Paulina couldn't help wanting to find out what secrets the girl was hiding. "It's just us girls. You can tell me."

Getting to hang out with Lily was one of her favorite things when it came to being at Dash's house. While her friends got to do the whole guy talk thing, she got to spend time with Lily, and it was almost like having a little sister. Being an only child was sometimes really lonely, even if her parents tended to spoil her rotten, buying her everything she wanted. That was nice and all, but Paulina always wanted a younger sibling. Her parents, however, were content with only one child.

Lily flushed darkly as she turned the notebook around so that Paulina could see what she was working on when the older woman entered the room. "It's not very good," she admitted as she lowered her gaze. It was no surprise that Lily was a fairly good artist, taking after her brother, though she tended to focus on less action packed drawings.

"It's amazing!" Paulina took the notebook to better examine the drawing. There were doodles of things like horses and butterflies in the corners, even a mermaid along the foot of the paper. But the main focus was of a boy's face, looking around the same age as Lily. Paulina lifted one of her delicate eyebrows at the young girl. "Is this someone you know?"

Lily shrugged, toying with the frilly hem of the pale yellow shirt she wore that Paulina gave her for her last birthday. "We know each other from the hospital. We've both been in and out for a while, and we bump into each other a lot while we're there." Her blush grew steadily darker as she spoke.

Paulina gasped, placing the notebook down between them as she leaned toward the girl. "You like him!" She grinned as the blush exploded, reaching even to Lily's ears. "Details! You have to tell me all about it." This was an exciting new development since their prior talks usually involved Lily having a slight crush on Kwan.

"I don't think he likes me though," Lily admitted as she frowned, hugging her arms awkwardly around her body. "When we were little, he used to show me all his disgusting scars and do stuff to scare me, like hiding under my bed and popping up out of nowhere to make me scream. And now," she shrugged, "we still see each other in hospital, but he never even looks at me when we're sitting near each other. And it's just all awkward."

"Maybe he likes you too but doesn't know how to express himself." Paulina rolled her emerald eyes. "Boys can be so dense when it comes to how they feel about someone. I mean, just look at your brother. He was such an idiot about his feelings before we managed to crack him into confessing he liked someone." She sighed as she leaned back and drew up one leg, hugging her arms around it. "Too bad it seems Danny doesn't like him back."

"Who's Danny?" Lily's brow pinched up in confusion as she tilted her head.

"A guy from school that your brother totally likes." Paulina grinned widely, still amused over the fact that Dash would fall for the man he bullied for most of their high school careers.

"No," Lily whined as she frowned. "He's not supposed to like some random guy!"

Paulina blinked at that response, feeling rather confused. "What?"

Lily sighed dramatically before landing her blue eyes on Paulina. "Kwan," she said in exasperation. When Paulina's confusion didn't lift, Lily sat up straighter, crossing her legs under her. "Kwan totally likes Dash."

"Funny," Paulina mumbled, recalling her conversation from earlier that day. "Danny asked about Dash considering Kwan when we talked in class." She frowned, puzzling over it. Kwan never admitted to liking anyone, which always seemed curious to her, but she never thought about the idea that maybe Kwan liked Dash. "But he never said anything, and you-"

Lily shook her head. "I liked him because he was basically one of the few guys not related to me that I knew. And he was always nice to me. But," her gaze fell to the notebook with her drawings, and she blushed, "it wasn't real with him. Just a passing thing. I think what I feel for Jeremy is much more real than what I thought I felt for Kwan." She paused to consider things for a moment. "Maybe Kwan doesn't even know he likes Dash. I mean, like you said, guys can be kind of dumb. Or you know, maybe he was worried that Dash might freak out over the whole gay thing."

"But then Dash came out as gay to us," Paulina said, still wondering why Kwan would keep silent about his feelings. Her eyes widened as she gasped. "Oh! But he couldn't say anything because Dash admitted to liking Danny, and being a good friend, Kwan didn't want to stand in the way of his friend's happiness, so he's continued sitting back in the shadows, quietly pining away for his best friend. Aw, that's so sad!" Her expression fell, crumbling with the thought of the misery Kwan must feel while watching Dash crush on Danny.

Lily sighed as she sat back, leaning against the wall at the head of her bed. "Men, huh?" She laughed but there was no humor in it. "Not the brightest bunch, huh?"

"I guess it's up to us to knock some sense into them." Paulina wondered how she could somehow help her friends. Dash was so focused on his crush with Danny, and it wasn't like she could just force him to like someone else. Especially after she and Kwan kept trying to encourage Dash to go for it with Danny. She wanted to make both of her friends happy, but with the way things were right now, it didn't look like either of them would end up happy. "So this boy at the hospital," Paulina said with a sly smile, deciding to shift the conversation back onto Lily. "Maybe you should go ahead and kiss him the next time you see him."

"Excuse me," Dash interrupted them, and Paulina turned toward the doorway to see his grumpy frown. "Did you just advise my little sister to _kiss_ someone?"

"She's old enough for something like that, Dash," Paulina answered airily with her head raised. "I know you're protective of her, but she should be allowed to experience things." She frowned, her eyes dimming. "I mean, if her condition isn't getting better-" She cut herself off as she stood.

That was generally a conversation about which they never talked. She could see the pain in her friend's eyes, knowing that any day his little sister could die. Thinking of Lily like her own little sister made that reality hurt for her too. She didn't want Lily to die, but the doctors' treatments didn't always do anything to help her. Right now, all they could do was try their best to keep her stable enough to give her a little more time before the inevitable.

"Well, I'll just go see if Kwan is ready to go." Paulina got up to leave things for the siblings to discuss. She paused when she reached Dash. "She deserves a chance to experience love," she whispered as she shared a look with Dash. "You're a great brother, Dash, but don't be overbearing about this." After giving him a pat on the shoulder, she stepped out of the room.

"So who are you going to be kissing?" Dash asked, and Paulina could imagine that grouchy big brother glare he always used when he got into that overprotective mode.

"You've met him," Lily answered, most likely blushing as she talked about her crush. "Jeremy from the hospital. I believe you thought he was a great little kid."

"I guess he's all right," Dash said with some hesitancy.

Paulina smiled to herself as she crossed the hall to Dash's bedroom. Kwan sat at the computer, which seemed the norm for him whenever they were hanging out at Dash's house. Creeping over to him, Paulina peered over his shoulder to see what he was working on, but of course, the lines of coding meant nothing to her.

"How you holding up?" Paulina questioned as she looped her arms around his neck.

"Jing's decided not only to invade my life at home again but also at school," Kwan muttered, his aqua green eyes glaring at the computer screen. "How do you _think_ I'm holding up?"

Paulina squeezed her arms just slightly. "Don't get grumpy with me." She pouted even though he couldn't see it. With a sigh, she moved to lean against the desk. "You know," she said, tilting her head as ebony hair slipped past one shoulder, "Dash or I would love to have you stay at either of our houses." She offered a small smile. "You can get away from your parents."

Kwan lifted his gaze away from the computer to frown at Paulina. "As little as my parents think of me, I don't think they'd respond well to me just leaving." She could see in his eyes that it was something he probably thought about a great deal, but like in any abusive relationship, breaking free wasn't easy for the victim. "Graduation isn't too far off anyway."

"Nope." Paulina shook her head as she folded her arms. Her eyes narrowed at him in a firm look. "You're coming home with me, buster, and I'm not accepting any protests."

"Paulina," Kwan groaned.

"You know once I make up my mind, I'm not going to change it." Paulina met his gaze, and they held a glaring match for a few moments before Kwan sighed and looked away. She grinned, knowing she won that match.

"You guys staying for dinner or do I need to drive you home now?" Dash questioned when he entered his bedroom.

"I should probably be heading home," Paulina answered with a sigh. "Papa is expecting me to be home, like a good little girl, for dinner."

"Because you're such a good little girl," Kwan said teasingly, which earned him a punch to the shoulder. "Ow! You really need to pull your punches." He frowned as he rubbed at his arm.

Paulina rolled her eyes at him. "That was barely a tap." She pushed away from the desk and walked toward the door.

"I don't know. You throw a pretty mean punch," Dash said with some uncertainty. "I'd love to see you deck Williams at some point." He laughed, probably imagining Calvin's face after getting punched by a woman. Paulina agreed that she would love to have a good excuse to sock him sometime, but she preferred not getting in trouble for attacking another student, even if Calvin deserved it.

They left the house, climbing into Dash's car. As she sat in the back seat, Paulina watched her two friends carefully the whole ride to her house. Most of the conversation revolved around their homework with a brief diversion when Dash questioned Kwan if he figured out anything more with Phantom's coding that they got off Tucker's PDA. Kwan only shrugged in response, uncertain about what he uncovered with the coding. Paulina frowned at the confusion in his voice. Kwan usually was never one to get confused when it came to anything involving technology.

"Now remember. You have to wear it tomorrow," Paulina said with a stern glare at Dash after she climbed out of his car when they arrived at her house.

"I don't see why we have to do this," Dash grumbled, clearly not happy with the outfit being forced upon him for tomorrow. "And where are you going, dude?" He tossed a confused glance at Kwan when he noticed his other friend climbed out of the car to join Paulina.

"We're having a slumber party, and you're not invited." Paulina grinned teasingly at Dash. "And you'll wear it because I'm not losing this bet with Danny."

"I don't really get why you made this bet to begin with." Dash frowned at her.

"Just do it, Dash." She placed her hands on her hips as she glared at him. Dash rolled his eyes but agreed before he waved goodbye and drove off back to his house. Paulina led the way up to her house, opening the door for her friend. When they entered the house, they were greeted with the aroma of the spiced ground beef that her mother usually made when she decided to make tacos for dinner.

Her mother happily embraced Kwan when she saw he was joining them for dinner. Her father was a little less happy, always suspicious of any man that hung around his daughter. But since this was Kwan that he knew since they were young children, her father was more accepting of his presence than any other man that might have joined them. Dinner was filled with pleasant conversation, mostly. There was a hiccup when Paulina announced wanting Kwan to spend the night, which got an angry glare from her father directed at the jock, who swallowed nervously.

"Sometimes I think he'd be happy locking me up in some convent," Paulina grumbled as she got out some sheets and pillows for Kwan. "What does he think we'll do, have sex?" She rolled her eyes at the mere thought. If she planned on having sex with someone, she certainly wouldn't bring the person home where her parents would be. Her gaze slid toward Kwan, who was sitting at her desk. "So," she smirked at the jock, "Dash, huh?"

Kwan blinked, a flush slowly growing upon his cheeks. "Wha-What?" he spluttered out, unable to meet her gaze.

Paulina grinned madly at him as she abandoned the sheets and pillows on the floor. "It's true!" She stood before him and placed her hands on his shoulders as Kwan gulped nervously. "I can't believe I had to have Danny and Lily say something before I realized it."

"Why were you talking with Fenton about it?" Kwan looked alarmed with that piece of news. "And Lily!" His eyes went wide, worry shining through them.

"Don't worry about Lily." Paulina waved it off. "She likes a guy at the hospital. But how long have you liked him? When did this all start? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Kwan reached up and scratched a hand through his hair as he sighed. "I don't know. A few years now, I guess." He shrugged with his eyes lowered. "I fought it for a while, telling myself I couldn't possibly be gay. But the feeling just wouldn't go away. And for not telling you, well-" He shook his head. "Can you imagine how my parents would react if they ever heard word that I had feelings for another guy?" He frowned, that miserable look crossing his face. "I already can't live up to any of their ideals. Coming out as gay would just be another nail in that coffin. And then there's how the whole school would react. I was pretty freaked out about that at the time, though now it doesn't bother me as much." He took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I guess I was just worried if you knew, you might try to do something to set me up with Dash, and I know that's not going to work out. He likes Danny. I don't want to get in the way."

Paulina frowned down at her friend with a troubled look in her eyes. "But you deserve to be happy. Why does Dash get to chase after his crush but not you?"

"Because Dash doesn't like me that way. I'll always just be his best friend and nothing more." Kwan reached up and patted one of Paulina's hands. "I'm fine with that. Maybe when I head off to college, I'll meet some other guy that just knocks me head over heels in love." His gaze turned serious as he stared into her emerald eyes. "And you better not say or do anything. I mean it, Paulina. Just forget that you even know I have feelings for him. It's better this way."

Paulina sighed as she circled her arms around his neck and hugged him. Things were _not_ better this way, but Kwan was as stubborn as any of the rest of them.


	36. Chapter 36

"Do you ever sleep?"

Danny glared at his best friend as they walked toward the cafeteria together. "You try spending several hours of hard training," he rubbed at his aching shoulders, remembering how much Vlad pushed him yesterday when he asked the man to train him, "then I still had all my homework to finish." He yawned tiredly, having to stay up even later than usual to complete everything. Vlad was no Mr. Nice Guy when it came to the training either, but Danny was kind of happy that their relationship seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

"I can't believe you went to him for training." Tucker frowned as they grabbed trays and got in line to pick up their lunches. "I know tech stuff. I could help you."

"It's not like I doubt your talents with tech or anything, Tuck." Danny picked up what he thought was a ham and cheese sandwich and thought he should be thankful they weren't still stuck on the ultra recyclo vegetarian menu, though they did leave some vegetarian friendly options on the menu. "But Vlad's been through all this. He knows exactly what I can do. So I don't have to fumble around like I've been doing from the beginning."

Tucker pouted. "I wanted to help." With their lunches in hand, they headed toward the table where Sam and Valerie were sitting. "Sam's still pretty mad that all my data on Phantom got erased." He sent a sideways glare at his friend.

"Viruses," Danny said with a shrug. "Can never tell when they're going to attack." Thankfully, they arrived at the table, ending any further conversation about his activities as Phantom. Danny sat down across from the women, Tucker taking up a seat next to him on the bench.

If he hadn't known anything about Vlad when Tucker learned the truth, Danny would be happy to have his techno geek friend help him with training. It was almost weird getting along with Vlad now after being angry at him since their first meeting. Danny took a bite out of his sandwich as he thought about how things went between them yesterday.

The first thing Vlad decided to focus on was teaching Danny how to heal himself after suffering an injury. Danny recalled that with a wince as Vlad inflicted many injuries on him during the training to give him real experience at fixing his damaged coding. Watching Vlad toy with the coding was like watching an artist at work with the masterful way he manipulated the jumbled data until it returned to its original coding. Danny was still pretty clumsy about it, and he saw a sneer on Vlad's face whenever he made an error trying to heal the injury, but he thought he got better at it by the time Vlad decided to move onto something new for a while.

"So what are you lovely ladies talking about today?" Tucker tossed a winning smile toward Valerie, who rolled her eyes.

"Look. If I'm going to hang out with you all, you," Valerie pointed her plastic fork at Tucker, "have to stop with," she pulled a face, and the fork waved up and down to indicate all of Tucker, "that."

Danny chuckled at the miserable look that crossed Tucker's face at being shot down again by Valerie. "I keep telling you. You're better off just being yourself. Don't lay it on so thickly. Just talk and let things happen."

"This coming from a guy who can't even land a date." Tucker shook his head.

"Well, at least, Danny doesn't make a girl feel like she's been looked at like a piece of meat when he's talking to her," Sam pointed out with a smirk.

"Well, of course," Tucker rolled his green eyes, "you'd side with Danny on that."

"So when are the lovebirds going to hook up?" Valerie questioned curiously as she glanced between Danny and Sam.

"We're not lovebirds," Sam argued with a light flush, dropping her gaze to the book beside her lunch tray.

"Maybe there was a time in the past," Danny admitted with a shrug as he popped the top of his soda can. "But I only think of Sam as a friend." It was strange, this time, having someone refer to him and Sam as lovebirds and not feeling that same flutter of embarrassment that usual came from the term. He thought maybe in part that had to do with Tucker and Paulina. Why did they have to make comments about guys? He was consciously avoiding thinking about Paulina letting it slip that Dash had feelings for him. It was still too weird, and he couldn't imagine it working between them.

"Oh my god!" The exclamation drew all four of their attentions to Star as she was passing their table with two of her fellow A list friends. The expression on her face looked absolutely horrified. "What do they think they're wearing?"

Danny turned to follow Star's gaze, as did the other three sitting with him. He nearly spat out his soda when his eyes landed on the three people that just entered the cafeteria, which erupted into murmurs. After he managed to swallow, he coughed a few times, pounding a fist against his chest as he recovered from the feeling of choking.

Paulina sauntered into the cafeteria very much like the queen of the school that she was with Dash and Kwan in tow behind her. What had everyone in shock over the A list trio was the clothing they chose to wear to school that day. Bright colors of tie-dye splashed over their shirts. They wore bellbottom pants in pinstripe and polka dotted patterns. Paulina donned a pastel yellow knitted sleeveless vest that hung down to mid thigh with dangling tassels along the bottom hem of the vest. They looked like they stepped out of the sixties into the present.

"Why are you wearing that," Star's face twisted up in disgust, "horrible outfit?"

Paulina paused to give the other In crowd woman a brief glance. "Because I can wear what I want," she replied flippantly as she slid next to Valerie on the bench. Sam and Tucker both gave the woman wide eyed gapes of surprise that someone still on the A list would join them for lunch.

"Did you get lost in a thrift shop or something?" Valerie questioned with a laugh as she looked over Paulina's outfit. Star stood by their table, sputtering at the strange event, until Dash nudged past her, "accidentally" knocking her tray into her and spilling the mess of food down the blonde's front side.

"Sorry," Dash said, though he hardly sounded apologetic as he took up a seat next to Danny while Kwan sat on the other side of Sam. The Goth did not look happy to be sitting next to the cheery jock. Danny had to admit he felt uncomfortable next to the blond jock after the conversation with Paulina. With an angry sound, Star stomped off with her two little groupies following after her out of the cafeteria, presumably to clean up the mess.

"I got these out of Mama's closet," Paulina answered Valerie's question. "I think they came from my grandmama."

"I can't believe you actually got them," Danny pointed his thumb at the two jocks, "to dress up too."

Paulina smirked smugly at him. "You misjudged the power and influence a queen has."

"If you're the queen, what does that make us?" Kwan questioned curiously.

"My knights in shining armor," Paulina replied innocently.

"Anyone care to explain what's going on?" Tucker frowned at the grouping at the table. "Because I feel like I just stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone."

Danny sighed tiredly. "I made a bet with Paulina that she wouldn't come to school wearing some ridiculous outfit, and she said she could get Dash and Kwan to do it too."

"And now, Danny has to wear a dress, or skirt, to school for all of next week." Paulina hummed happily to herself. "I have the perfect thing for you to wear on Monday."

Danny groaned, pushing away his tray after losing his appetite. He folded his arms on the table and dropped his head onto them, not looking forward to the next week and the humiliation that would accompany it.

"Why would you make that bet?" Sam demanded, her voice strained like she was trying _very hard_ to resist screaming at the A lists and causing a major scene in the cafeteria. "And why are the A list sitting with us?" She clapped her hands suddenly. "Oh, I have this cute black dress that would look great on him!"

"We should plan out what he'll wear together," Paulina suggested excitedly.

_Great_ , Danny thought miserably to himself. _Sam and Paulina can bond over treating me like a dress up doll. Why not? That's what Jazz loved to do_. He lifted his head and glanced over at the women across from him and found that even Valerie was joining in on the fun of deciding what dresses to make him wear next week.

Tucker patted him on the back. "It could be worse," he said with a wincing smile, trying to be positive about his friend's impending doom.

"Yeah, at least you actually look pretty good in a dress," Kwan pointed out as he flicked a folded triangle of paper toward Dash, who had his fingers held up close together like the goal posts of a football field. The shot went wide, and Kwan muttered a disappointed curse.

"I feel like that shouldn't be a compliment." Danny eyed the jocks, frowning as he noted the light blush on Dash's cheeks. He suspected the blond man was thinking back on seeing Danny in that pink dress for the play. Kwan, meanwhile, was grinning like an idiot as he set up his hands for Dash to try shooting the paper between them. Lunch passed surprisingly well, despite everyone in the cafeteria staring at their little gathering, and Danny thought with some happiness, Paulina and Valerie looked really happy to be talking with each other again during school hours.

When they reached their theater class, Paulina surprised him with a hug before they entered the room. Danny scratched a hand through his hair, thinking that in freshman year, he would be ecstatic to get a hug, let alone two hugs, from Paulina. It was weird, honestly, not having that reaction of turning into a drooling zombie at the sight of Paulina like many of the other men in the school did. Danny frowned as they did some rehearsing for the play during class, like they were supposed to. If he didn't feel anything toward the prettiest girl in school, or Sam, or even Valerie, did that mean he might have feelings toward men instead? Danny shook his head. That might be a giant leap, he realized. But he decided it couldn't hurt leaving the option open, when he had the time at actually consider dating someone.

His thoughts were still turning as he reached his final class of the day. Danny rubbed at the back of his neck, frowning in contemplation when he heard a soft growling from the watch on his wrist. When he turned the watch to face him, it didn't surprise him to find the glaring red eyes of Cujo as the security program warned him of an oncoming virus attack. He didn't like this. The Guys in White created a virus with the sole purpose of chasing him, and in doing so, the virus gave Valerie the suit to achieve its goal. His teeth ground in frustration at the lengths the GIW would go to get at him.

"Mr. Fenton," Lancer said, distracting his student from his thoughts.

"Uh," Danny bit his lip as he looked away. "I need to go," he explained in a slow, awkward tone.

"I see." Lancer's mouth pressed into a grim line. "Try to make it back before the end of the class." He caught Danny's arm before his student could depart. "Be safe."

Danny blinked at his teacher, for a moment too stunned. It was his first time running off to face a virus with someone telling him to be safe with that look of concern in their eyes. "I will, Sir." Danny offered a confident smile when his teacher released him. Turning on his feet, he darted down the hall to the nearest bathroom. Everyone else would be in class by that point, but he still checked to be certain the bathroom was empty before he transformed into Phantom.

As he left the bathroom, Danny pulled down his visor, the translucent green strip displaying a map of the school. The site of the virus activity flashed to the right side of the school, the location appearing within the gym. He took off running for the gym, which thankfully wasn't too far away.

When he arrived at the gym, Danny sighed at the sight of another one of those spidery viruses. They were becoming as much a nuisance as fighting against the Box Bug or Skulker. The spider noticed his presence immediately, skittering across the polished wood flooring of the basketball courts toward him. Danny charged an energy ball within his hand and fired it at the spider. The shot blasted the floor, leaving a scorch mark, but the spider managed to dodge it. The virus continued toward him until a pink beam tore through it, stopping it in its tracks as a clear mucus oozed from the hole through its body.

"If you wanted that goody two shoes act to be more believable, maybe you should actually _kill_ the viruses that attack," Valerie said as she stepped up to the motionless virus. Placing a foot on its body, she gave it a nudge, rolling it over. "But I guess that would ruin your whole act. Do you have some sort of deal with the other viruses?" She leveled her weapon at him. "Well, I guess the answer doesn't really matter. I'm not letting you escape me this time."

Danny gulped as a cold feeling ran through him, knowing she was absolutely seriously about killing him. His green eyes drifted toward the virus lying at her feet. Why would the virus give Valerie weaponry that could potentially kill him if the purpose was to capture him? Valerie was meant to be a distraction, not a weapon of death. It didn't make sense that she would be able to destroy a virus with her weapons. The virus was wounded, that was clear from the hole through its body and the mucus seeping from it. But was it truly dead? His eyes widened a fraction when he spotted a twitch of the spiny legs.

Valerie let out a snort of a laugh. "Showing fear now? That's good. No false bravery will save you this time."

"Valerie!" Danny shouted in a panic as he rushed toward her.

Valerie pulled the trigger on her gun. The pink ray ricocheted off a green hexagon of energy that Danny conjured before him, thanking Vlad mentally for deciding that shields would be the second item on the list of things for Danny to learn. Quickly, he used the a few of his shields to drive her back. Valerie shouted in frustration, trying to blast through the shields. Danny felt like screaming at her because yet again she failed to realize he was trying to _protect_ her. The virus was still alive, and she was standing right next to it.

"You stupid, useless virus!" Valerie screamed, punching a fist into one of the panes of energy with enough force to create a small crack in it. "Do you think you can hide behind these things forever?"

"Don't you understand anything?" Danny shouted back, having finally pushed her several feet away from the virus. "You haven't been killing the viruses at all!"

"Do you think I'm really going to buy your act? Stop pretending like you're a good guy. All viruses are the same."

"It's not an act! And I'm not a-" Danny gasped as something sharp pierced through his chest. He dropped his gaze as his shields blinked and faded from sight. Sticking out of his chest were two of the spider's thin legs. Electricity surged through his body, the whitish yellow sparks dancing up the legs of the spider. Screaming in agony, Danny dropped to his knees, trying unsuccessfully to yank the legs out of his chest while his body kept twitching under the assault upon it.

The pain dulled somewhat when Valerie appeared before him and with her gun, using it like a golf club, knocked the virus across the gym in one hard swing. The spider slammed into the far wall, its body shattering like a machine. Danny winced as he ripped free the legs that remained buried in his chest. Flipping the gun back around, Valerie aimed it at him.

"Before you go blasting me in the head," Danny ground out through clenched teeth, prepared to put up a shield if he needed to, "I was trying to prevent that from happening to you." His body still felt twitchy after the electrocution.

"You could have planned that," Valerie said coldly as she cocked the gun, ready to fire at him. "Why should I believe that you care at all about saving me?"

"Because I'm not a virus." Danny gave her his most serious expression. "And I didn't mess up the lab at Axion Labs to get your father fired. I was trying to stop the virus that attacked there. I really feel bad about what happened to your father. I begged the president of Axion Labs to give your father a second chance because he certainly didn't deserve to get fired because of anything I did."

"And why should I believe anything you say?"

Danny couldn't see behind the dark visor of her helmet, but he was certain Valerie had her face scrunched up in that way she did when she was trying to decide if someone was lying to her or not. "Ask your father then. He'll have watched the security feeds from that night." He climbed to his feet, wincing as he placed a hand to his chest that was leaking that gross clear substance. He needed to hurry and heal the injury, but he didn't dare to do it while he had a gun to his head.

Valerie remained quiet for a moment before she shouldered her gun. "I'll let you go this time," she said with some wariness, "only because you did protect me from that virus. Consider it repayment." Her head turned to the side with the gun against her shoulder. "If I can't kill the viruses-" She snapped her head around toward where the virus careened into the wall. "It's gone!"

Danny turned to look as well and frowned. He couldn't even get a reading for the virus on the visor, and Cujo remained silent about any virus activity. That didn't sit well with him, and he dropped his gaze to his chest. Was the whole purpose of that to draw him out this time? It shouldn't come as a surprise to him if that was the case. Vlad did say the head virus was going after him because of the programming the GIW gave it. The urgency to heal his injury hit him with more urgency.

"I should probably get out of here then," Danny said with some awkwardness as he backed away from Valerie. There was an access point right next to the door of the gym. He managed to reach it before Valerie could change her mind about giving him the chance to escape.

"Next time, I won't let you escape," Valerie said as he jumped into the NetZone.

Danny dropped to one knee after he was inside the NetZone, his chest aching from his injuries. Cujo gave a whine as he sat beside Danny and nudged his head against Danny's side. Reaching down, he patted the dog on the head.

"It's okay, boy," Danny said gently. "I can fix this." He hoped anyway. He tapped near the sight of the punctures, and a screen appeared, showing the tangled mess of coding caused by the injury. This shouldn't be too hard. Vlad showed him hundreds of times yesterday how to do this. It should be easy for him. Taking a deep breath, Danny poked and prodded at the data, not quite as skillfully as Vlad could do.

It took longer than he knew Vlad would have done it, but Danny drew out a scrap of data that fit nicely into his palm. He frowned at it as he stood. Cujo barked happily, hopping to his feet as well. Danny sighed, closing his hand around the virus data. It was time for another visit to Vlad.

"Sorry, Lancer," Danny mumbled as he started at a jog toward Vlad's domain, "but this is important."

When he reached the now familiar firewall, Danny typed in the password that Vlad gave him so that he could access the domain whenever he needed. Unsurprisingly, Vlad was present, keeping watch over the data streaming on his screens. The bit of whitish green sparking data that the man plucked out of his injury what felt like ages ago remained on his desk.

"Shouldn't you still be in school, Daniel?" His tone held curiosity, not accusation.

"There was another attack," Danny explained as he approached the man with Cujo trotting behind him at his heels. "I pulled this out of the injury I got from the virus."

Vlad turned around to face him, eying the sparking data in the palm of Danny's hand. "I see my lessons have already started to pay off." A smug smirk pulled at his mouth.

"Don't get too full of yourself," Danny grumbled as Vlad took the data and placed it near the other one.

"Now, now." Vlad turned back to him. "I think you've done quite well thus far on your own." He tapped the air between them to open a screen. Danny frowned when Vlad passed it over his body, examining the coding of the man before him. "I have no doubts that you've learned the skill of healing your injures, but I still want to be sure that no tiny byte of the virus was missed."

Danny nodded numbly, blinking in surprise. "Right. Of course." But he couldn't shake that odd feeling when Vlad actually seemed like he cared. Some part of him kept reminding him that it was only in that teacher and student way. It was the same as how Lancer cared for all of his students. "So this virus wanted to do something to me with this attack?"

A frown creased over Vlad's face as he walked around the desk so that he could face Danny while examining the new virus chunk. "The question is: what?" It circled around in Danny's mind since he pulled out the virus from his coding: what was it meant to do to him?


	37. Chapter 37

Valerie glanced past the woman sitting opposite her and wasn't surprised to see several of the other A list members shooting them unhappy glares. Star and Calvin seemed particularly furious with the new arrangement since lunch that day. Valerie wasn't all that surprised that Star would be angry over it since without Valerie around, Star was able to latch onto Paulina to bump up her social status even more. Turning her green eyes onto Paulina, Valerie wondered if the other woman even realized how her actions caused a ripple effect through the school. She could already see it happening even while they sat in the Nasty Burger to hang out after school. Tony, who usually stuck to Calvin's side, currently sat at a different table with two of the nerds from school. They were too far away for Valerie to overhear their conversation, but they seemed to be deep in discussion about something that made Tony very excited. She smiled at that, thinking maybe it would do the school some good to have people from different rungs on the social ladder mingling with each other. Maybe it would help with the bullying problem that arose when labels were placed upon people.

"I don't know about you," Paulina said, frowning as her emerald gaze glanced back at the A lists behind her, "but I think I'm ready to get out of here."

Valerie couldn't agree more as she followed Paulina in leaving the booth and heading for the exit of the Nasty Burger. The chance to hang out with Paulina like they used to was great, but they didn't have room to breathe, let alone chat privately, when people kept hovering around them like vicious hawks the way the rest of the In crowd was doing currently.

"Where did Dash and Kwan run off to?" Valerie asked after they stepped outside as they sky started to turn dark.

"Probably went back to Dash's house," Paulina explained, leading the way to her car. "We're sort of playing keep away with Kwan's family." She gave a weak laugh as she unlocked the doors.

"Oh," Valerie mumbled, nodding in understanding as they both climbed into her car. She knew things weren't great with Kwan's family, especially with his older brother being back in the house, and now at school too. She glowered as she remembered that point. Couldn't Jing leave Kwan alone to live his own life? The man was lucky she didn't flat out deck him when he approached her at the Nasty Burger. "I'd offer, but I doubt Kwan really wants to hang out in my dinky apartment over in West Elmerton." Even she didn't want to hang out there, but she didn't really have the option to live anywhere else.

"Well, you know Kwan." Paulina started the car and pulled out of the spot where she parked. "He probably wouldn't care where you live as long as he's getting to hang out with a friend."

"That's true." Valeria bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced over at the other woman, still dressed in the ridiculous hippie styled clothing. "Are you sure wearing that was the best idea?"

"Of course," Paulina answered firmly and sent a smirk to her. "I couldn't let Danny win that bet."

"Bet he wasn't counting on your competitive side." Valerie chuckled, almost feeling sorry for the man. "But what I meant was," she sighed, "you don't have to lower your social standing to hang out with me. I don't want to drag you down with me."

"You know, Danny's a pretty good guy." Paulina glanced at Valerie with a look in her emerald eyes. "He made me realize that I was pretty bad friend. I distanced myself from you at school because you weren't part of the A list anymore. A good friend wouldn't do that. A good friend would stick by another friend no matter what. And I still would have done it, even without the bet. Because I've missed hanging out with you. The bet just meant that I could dress Danny up some more." She grinned wickedly at that idea.

Valerie rolled her eyes, but the whole thing at least gave Paulina and Sam something to bond over, otherwise lunch would have turned into battlefield between the two women. "I've missed hanging out with you, and Dash and Kwan, too. The rest of the A list I could do without." Her smile fell as she lowered her gaze. "But I've also liked hanging out with Sam, Danny, and Tucker." She laughed. "I still can't believe Sam attacked Star like that, but it was awesome to see."

"Star refused, naturally, to give the full details on that," Paulina said, giving her friend a curious look. "So what went down that day?"

"You know me. I can take care of myself in a fight." Valerie lifted one arm, bent at the elbow, and patted the nice hard muscle there.

"Anyone that's gone to your karate matches knows you're not one to pick a fight with." Paulina laughed, having been to more than a few of Valerie's matches long before they entered high school and things like social standings got in the way.

"Well, Star was being her usual self, slinging poorly put together insults aimed at me." Valerie sighed at the mere memory of Star's insults. Sometimes Valerie thought the blonde woman was lucky that she even managed to learn to walk upright. Star's insults were absolutely dreadful. "Anyway, I pretty much just ignored her because listening to anything she says is pretty pointless. And I could snap her like a twig without breaking a sweat if I really wanted."

"So how did Sam factor in to this?"

"I guess she overheard Star talking. Star was planning to humiliate me during gym." Valerie rolled her eyes. "I didn't think much of it. I wasn't going to let the rest of them get to me. But something she said, I missed it because I stopped paying attention to her, set Sam off, and in the next moment, Star was screaming her lungs out. Man, that move Sam pulled on her was awesome. She could have been a terror if she trained in karate too."

Valerie still couldn't believe it, almost. After how poorly she treated Sam and her friends, Valerie didn't think the Goth would actually step up to defend her for any reason. Maybe there was something of respect between them, in a strange way. Before things started going downhill for her, they almost seemed to hate each other, but their confrontations were always something that was a head on approach. They didn't go about behind the back to get at one another. Their fight was a verbal one, slinging words like daggers. Now that they were in the same social circle, their rivalry turned to an alliance.

"I wish I had been there to see that!" Paulina sighed in disappointment.

"I wish I had my phone at the time so I could have snapped some pictures of it." Valerie grinned, remembering the look on Star's face. When she glanced out the window of the car, she realized they were nearing the apartment building where she now lived with her father. "So," she said slowly as she turned her gaze back to the woman beside her, "how long has this thing with Dash crushing Danny been going on?"

"So you noticed that?"

Valerie laughed at the sly grin that spread onto Paulina's face. "Anyone that had enough sense to be observant would be able to spot it if they looked." She shrugged. "But at least he's more subtle in his attraction toward someone than, say, Tucker."

"Yeah, Tucker isn't exactly the smoothest guy when he comes to flirting with a girl, is he?" Paulina snickered before recovering her composer. "Sorry." She winced. "Maybe you can knock some sense into him."

"It seems Danny keeps telling Tucker to just be himself around someone he likes. Tucker isn't really listening." Sighing, Valerie shook her head. Tucker really wouldn't be so bad if he didn't keep using all those horrible lines or trying as hard as he did to impress someone. It was mildly impressive when he tried to stand up to Ryan the other day, but Tucker didn't exactly have the muscle to back him up. "I can see Dash liking Danny though." She nodded in thought. "Danny has that nice guy vibe to him. You know, like, even if you're a dick to him, he'll give you a second chance." She frowned somewhat as she remembered Danny leaving quickly after she joined them at the Nasty Burger, like he was anxious to get away from her.

Paulina sighed as she parked her car outside the apartment building. "Dash didn't want the whole school finding out he was gay at the beginning of the year because, you know, star football player being gay wouldn't exactly blow over all that well, especially before the end of the season." She leaned back in her seat as she folded her arms. "I can understand his thinking there. But at least he had Kwan and me to lean on. The problem is," she frowned as she turned to Valerie, "and I may have broken friendship code with this," she winced, "I let it slip to Danny about Dash's feelings because the guy is being just so slow about it." She huffed in exasperation. "But Danny pretty much said he didn't think it would work out between him and Dash."

"And he didn't say it was because he was straight?" Valerie admitted there would be some disappointment if Danny was gay. He would probably be a pretty good and caring boyfriend, if any woman gave him the chance, though sadly, Valerie would be among the number of women that shot him down if he asked her on a date in the past.

"He said he hadn't really thought about it. But I wouldn't be surprised if he came to school on Monday and announced he was gay. There's just that," Paulina struggled for a moment, "vibe with him."

"I don't think forcing him into a dress will help any denial he tries to make." Valerie laughed, already imagining Danny in the outfits that Paulina and Sam discussed during lunch. She glanced up at the apartment building and frowned at the state of it. "I guess I should get going." She sighed as she turned back to Paulina. "It's been great hanging out with you today." She grunted when Paulina suddenly threw herself at her, drawing her into a fierce hug.

"I'm really sorry about treating you like that," Paulina said, squeezing her arms gently around the other woman.

Valerie patted her on the back. "It's okay. I would have done the same if our positions were reversed. I'm just happy that you still want to be my friend." She laughed as Paulina pulled away. "I think I'd be a bit worried about you if you let Star replace me."

"You're irreplaceable, Val." Paulina grinned at her before a shudder ran through her. "And no way could Star ever take over as my best friend."

After saying their goodbyes, Valerie grabbed her book bag from the backseat and got out of the car. At the door, she turned and waved to Paulina before disappearing into the building. She headed up to the floor with their apartment, checking if her neighbor was around and on the lookout for someone to sucker into babysitting duty for the night. With a relieved sigh, she entered her apartment.

"Are you home, Dad?" Valerie called as she headed toward her room to drop off her book bag.

"Just getting ready to go," Mr. Gray answered and appeared in the doorway to her room a moment later.

Valerie gave her father a look, resisting the urge to laugh, as she walked over and adjusted the tie on his uniform. As she fixed the lopsided tie, she recalled the events from earlier that day. Once again, Phantom was in her crosshairs. He was injured by that virus, and she could have easily taken him out then and there. Despite the hate and anger fueling her, she couldn't ignore what Phantom told her and what he did. Phantom protected her from getting injured by that virus she thought she killed. This whole time, she thought she was able to take out viruses where others had failed, but Phantom slapped her in the face with the reality that she hadn't stopped any of those viruses. It was a hard fact to accept after she thought so firmly that she was making a difference in her fight against the viruses, as well as not being to actually kill Phantom with her weapons.

"Dad," Valerie said hesitantly as she glanced up at him. "Um, about that incident that got you fired." She bit her lower lip in uncertainty.

"What about it, Sweetie?" Mr. Gray smoothed down his tie and shirt.

"It was Phantom, right?" Hope snuck its way into her voice. "It was all Phantom's fault that you got fired, right?" Valerie was practically begging in her head for him to say that it was, like she _needed_ the blame to be all on Phantom.

"Well," Mr. Gray said with a slight frown, "we reviewed the tapes from that incident, and there was another virus that came in and started destroying everything. Phantom appeared afterward and seemed to be trying to stop it." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know it would be easy just to blame things on Phantom, or even that virus, but it wouldn't change anything. Life deals out bad hands all the time. You just have to learn to roll with the punches. I don't like that I lost my job and we had to move, but as long as I still have you, life can keep throwing me curve balls. We'll make it somehow. Together."

When her father smiled, Valerie almost felt guilty about getting so angry over everything that happened. How could her father not be mad? But staring into her father's eyes, she could see that to him nothing else mattered as long they were still together. Things were difficult for both of them after her mother died, but they got through it together, leaning on each other for support. But she held back on telling him about the suit and fighting viruses. She didn't want him to get angry or worry about her.

"I love you, Dad." Valerie hugged him tightly.

"I love you too, Sweetie." Mr. Gray leaned down and kissed her on top of the head. "I've got another late night, and I know it's a Friday night, but try not to stay up too late."

"I won't, Dad. And remember to pick up something for dinner." Valerie gave him a firm glare when she stepped back. She knew he wasn't always good about picking up dinner when working the graveyard shift. After saying that he would remember, Mr. Gray left to make it to work on time. Walking over to her desk, Valerie sat down to start on her homework, though her mind was still turning over everything from that day.


	38. Chapter 38

Danny didn't make it back to school in time to make it to his final class. Lancer gave him that patented teacher glare of disapproval, which made Danny feel guilty about skipping out on the class, even more so because he really liked Lancer's class. Danny had to give a rather edited version of event to explain his absence, deciding not to out Valerie's role of what happened in the gym. It was no surprise that Lancer was not happy after hearing about what took place, but he said nothing more than that he was happy that Danny came back alive and well. Danny could see it in his green eyes, that fear his teacher had that one of the times Danny disappeared to fight viruses that he wouldn't come back. He felt bad about making his teacher worry like that.

Lancer told him about what was discussed in class that day and what his homework assignment was and offered him help with any of his homework if he needed it. That made Danny more appreciative of the man knowing his secret. After thanking his teacher, Danny headed back into the NetZone to check in with Vlad, who said he would need some time to decipher the coding and discover what it was meant to do to Danny. He still had a lot of training to do to become a better fighter.

When he came out of the NetZone again, it was already eleven in the morning. Danny rubbed at his aching neck as his digital form dissipated, leaving behind a tired teenager still wearing yesterday's clothing. He quickly changed into something clean before leaving his bedroom. Normally, he wouldn't have stayed so long at Vlad's domain, but since it was a Friday night, he decided it would be all right to get in an extra long training session. It was broken up a few times to let him rest, and Vlad actually offered help with his homework. When Vlad started talking math formulas, Danny thought he maybe, almost, sort of, kind of understood it. He didn't feel quite as overwhelmed about working on his math homework this weekend.

Danny jogged down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. While in the NetZone, he didn't even notice that he was hungry. It was like his body, his human body, was shut down while he was in digital form and hanging out on the NetZone. Things like eating, sleeping, going to the bathroom didn't register to him during his whole time with Vlad. As he opened the refrigerator to grab some breakfast, Danny wondered if Vlad even slept since confining himself to the NetZone. Or was he like the programs and viruses and never felt the need to sleep? If that was true, Danny had to wonder how the man stayed sane.

"And where have you been all night, young man?"

Danny tensed up when he heard his father's voice. Closing the refrigerator door, he turned around to face the large man. His father stared down his nose, blue eyes narrowing as he folded his arms over his bright orange jumpsuit. "Uh," he stalled, trying to think of a good excuse, "the library. Tons of homework, you know. Thought a nice quiet place like the library would help me get more work done. I was back before curfew."

"Then why didn't we see you come in?" Jack leaned down, squinting at his son in that way that suggested he suspected a lie.

"You were down in the lab." Danny hoped none of his panic slipped out for his father to notice.

Jack's eyes narrowed, if possible, another fraction before he stood up straight. "Sounds about right." He nodded and patted his son on the shoulder.

"Oh, you're here," Maddie said as she came up from the laboratory. "We're going down the mayor's office. Again." She frowned when she said it, clearly not happy that the mayor denied them permission to shut down the high school so that they could sweep it for viruses. "It's like the man doesn't understand what we say when we tell him there's a level nine contamination at Casper High. This might take us all day." She gave her son an embarrassing kiss on the side of the forehead before she left the kitchen with her husband.

Danny sighed out in relief after he heard the front door close. At least his father bought the lie about where he was all night. He returned to searching for a good breakfast because he was _starving_. He managed to scarf down scrambled eggs and toast, a sausage patty, a banana, and two blueberry muffins before his stomach started to feel like it would burst if he stuffed even a single bite more into his mouth. As he washed the dishes, he heard the doorbell ring. Sighing, he dried off his hands and headed for the front door.

"Sam, Tuck!" Danny blinked in surprise to see his friends on his doorstep so early in the morning. He winced internally when he realized it was close to noon by now. He also didn't miss that nervous glance Tucker gave Sam, who was oblivious to it. The look didn't make Danny feel very confident about the visit.

"Where'd you go after school?" Tucker asked as he and Sam entered the house. "I thought we could hang out for a while since someone," he nodded at Sam, "still had detention." Sam rolled her violet eyes at his comment.

"Library," Danny replied as he nodded. With his friends, the answer sounded even more ludicrous, and they gave him looks that clearly said they weren't buying his lie.

"Come on, Danny." Sam folded her arms as she frowned at him. "We're not your parents. You can tell us what you were really doing."

Danny caught Tucker's eye, and it took a moment before his friend realized why the lie was necessary. "I just had a lot of homework." He shrugged, and that part wasn't entirely a lie and Sam would know it to be true. She was always complaining that he and Tucker left homework to the last minute after all. "I just figured I could get more done at the library than at home. You know my parents." He rolled his eyes in an expression of exasperation. "They're always working on something, and the noise can be rather distracting."

Sam tilted her head, some of her hair spilling forward to drape over her shoulder. A scrutinizing look passed through her eyes, and Danny feared she would call him out on the obvious lie. "Speaking of your parents, I didn't see that monstrosity of an RV parked outside." A curious eyebrow lifted at him as a sly smirk tried to spread across her face.

"They left to see the mayor again," Danny answered slowly as he eyed her. "They're still trying to get permission to shut down the school."

"I certainly wouldn't mind a few days off of school." Tucker chuckled. "It would give me some extra time to catch up on my homework."

"And that's exactly why you shouldn't put off your homework," Sam said for what was probably the millionth time already.

"I'd have more time if you didn't keep insisting I try to locate Phantom," Tucker argued, and some tension ran through Danny at the name of his alter ego. Danny knew Sam still wanted to find Phantom, and her persistence worried him.

"A lot of good that's done." Sam frowned at Tucker. "I can't believe you lost that data. How could you let that happen?"

"A fluke accident!" Tucker shouted, and his green eyes just barely flicked toward Danny. "And anyway, I believe there was a reason you wanted to come over today."

"Well, first off," Sam said as she pulled her book bag around and unzipped it, "Paulina want me to make sure you had this." She pulled out the long ebony wig that was part of his costume for their play.

Danny groaned as he snatched it out her hand. "I can't believe you're actually taking part in this humiliation." It was nice that Sam and Paulina managed to get along together at lunch, but he wished they could have found another topic to bond over other than treating him like a dress up doll. "You know, it's bad enough Jazz used to do this to me without having my best friend doing it too."

"Well, Danny," Sam plucked the wig from his hands and draped it over his head, "it's not our fault you can pull off the look." She smiled when he glared at her blandly through the cascade of ebony hanging in front of his face.

"I guess that incident freshman year really didn't help." Tucker tried but failed not to snicker at his best friend.

"You know, Tuck," Danny turned to his friend with a slow smirk stretching across his face. "We _are_ best friends, and we tend to share _everything_." He stepped closer to his friend as an eerie look entered his eyes. He placed his hands on Tucker's shoulders, watching the nervous bob of the Adam's apple when his friend gulped. "Don't you want to share this with me?"

Tucker laughed weakly. "What about Sam? She's your friend too."

"Yeah, but I already wear skirts and dresses," Sam pointed out smugly. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Wear pink," Tucker and Danny answered together as they turned a grin on her that made the color drain from Sam's face. While it was true she wore skirts and even dresses, it was always in dark colors, usually black. Sam would never be caught dead in something pink and frilly, though it would make her parents die from happiness.

The suggestion clearly horrified Sam, who was silent for several moments after their response. "I will if he does," she said at last, nodding her head toward Tucker, whose amusement over Sam's reaction quickly died.

Danny laughed at both of them. "I was only kidding." He grinned as he tugged the wig off his head. "You don't have to dress up." He turned to Sam. "Did Paulina give you what I'm supposed to wear on Monday?"

"I told her about that cute little baby blue skirt Jazz has, and Paulina agreed it would be perfect on you." Sam led the way up the stairs and down the hall to Jazz's room.

His mother went in it from time to time to clean so that the room didn't get all dusty for when Jazz returned for Christmas break. Thankfully, that wouldn't be for another two weeks, so he would avoid having his sister join in on his humiliation which seemed to be a source of entertainment for the women in his life, with the exception of his mother who was too busy with her work investigating viruses and creating new inventions.

After several minutes of searching through Jazz's drawers and closet, Sam located the skirt she mentioned. She held it up with a proud grin like it was long sought after treasure. Danny remembered the skirt because this wouldn't be his first time getting stuck in it. He took it unhappily from Sam and put it and the wig in his room. It was a wonder he didn't need some sort of therapy after things like this.

"Be sure to wear a cute shirt with it," Sam instructed as they walked back down to the first floor.

"I'm a guy," Danny pointed out, frowning at his friend. "I don't own cute things."

Sam's shoulders slumped as she rolled her eyes. "Then find something in Jazz's closet," she told him like that answer should be obvious. "Now," she clapped her hands with excitement in her eyes, "since your parents are gone, how about you show us the lab? We never got to see that Data Deraser thing you told us about."

He wanted to argue. He _really_ wanted to argue. But Sam would never be convinced to do something else when her mind was made up on checking out his parents' inventions. Sighing tiredly, Danny led the way to the laboratory, glad at least that his parents would be gone for the day. He wouldn't have to worry about them suddenly coming down the stairs and demanding to know what they were doing in the laboratory. Or listen to his father blather on about a new invention.

The laboratory was, as usual, a mess. His eyes drifted toward the Material Portal, and the sight of it still unsettled him. Looking around the mess, he spotted the Data Deleter sitting on a weapons stand along with a number of other inventions. Most of them were old news by now, his parents having invented them over the last three years.

"Oh, it's the Thermos!" Sam picked up the sleek sliver cylindrical object that was sitting on the table. From the smile on her face, she looked like she thought she just came across an amazing find.

Danny frowned as he walked over to join her. "What's so great about it?" He eyed the invention that he remembered seeing blueprints for only a week ago. It still didn't look all that useful to him.

"Are you kidding?" Sam gaped at him. "Don't you ever pay attention to your parents' work?" She frowned when Danny merely shrugged. He would prefer if he didn't have to, but there were plenty of inventions that he knew were best to avoid. Especially for him. "Well," Sam said, holding up the Thermos as she placed her other hand on one hip, "if what your dad says is right, then this thing," she waved the Thermos, "should be able to capture and contain a virus."

"Yeah, but my parents' invention don't always work." Danny stared at the Thermos with more interest after hearing Sam's explanation of what it did. If it really _could_ trap viruses, that might come in handy. "But containing a virus wouldn't destroy it," he mumbled with a frown.

"Well, I know that." Sam bopped him lightly on the head with the Thermos. "But at least it would stop the virus from running amok on the NetZone." She smirked, balancing the Thermos on one finger and spinning it around. "Think your parents would notice if I took it? If I ever manage to track down Phantom, I could give it to him."

"I don't know," Danny answered uncertainly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, they did just build it. And they didn't get to test it out at school. They might notice it's missing if you take it."

"Hey," Tucker called, pulling his friends' attention away from the Thermos. "Is this the Data Deraser?"

Danny glanced at his friend and immediately felt a sense of dread as Tucker lifted the latest in virus hunting weaponry from the stand. "Tuck, maybe you should put that-" He reacted without thinking, his arms moving to shove Sam out of the way the moment he heard the familiar whirl of a charging weapon. The sudden discharge of the weapon nailed him in the chest. He couldn't tell if he screamed or not as he slammed back into the wall. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire, and for several long moments, he couldn't see or hear.

"Danny?" His friends' concerned voices reached through to him as the world slowly faded back into blurry view. One of them was shaking his shoulder, but he wasn't sure which one.

"What happened?" Danny's throat felt raw, and his voice sounded hoarse. They grabbed him under the arm and helped him to his feet. His head was throbbing, probably from hitting it against the wall, while his chest still felt it was slammed into by a battering ram.

"I'm so sorry!" Tucker said, panic in his voice. "I am so, so, so sorry!"

"This is exactly why you were forbidden from handling anything in the lab, Tucker," Sam said in annoyance before turning her concern back to Danny. "Are you okay?" Her hand absently brushed over where he was struck, and Danny cringed back with a hiss of pain. Sam winced, snapping her hand away. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital."

Danny shook his head. The hospital was certainly not an option. "I'll be fine. Their weapons are only meant to hurt viruses. It might sting a bit, but it shouldn't do any major harm to a human." He smiled at her in a show that he was okay, but inside, he was having a major freak out over the whole incident. The Data Deleter was meant to erase a virus down the very last nanobyte, according to his parents. How exactly would that affect him? Would that kill the Phantom side of him and leave him just plain Danny Fenton again? He could see the panic in Tucker's eyes. His friend knew the truth now, and clearly he understood the risk of Danny getting shot by anything sitting around in his parents' laboratory.

"Maybe that's enough looking around for today," Tucker said, wincing. "How about we go do something? I think they're showing some old horror movies at the Cineplex."

"Are you sure we shouldn't get that looked at?" Sam frowned, her violet gaze lingering on Danny's chest.

"It's fine," Danny insisted. "Just let me make a quick stop to the bathroom and we can go." He ushered his friends out of the laboratory before rushing to the bathroom. It was the only thing he could think to do at that moment. After closing the door, he switched immediately into his digital form, which felt normal enough. Looking himself over, nothing looked out of the ordinary. He opened a scanner screen like Vlad taught him and ran it over his body, searching out any sign of damage or infection, but everything looked perfectly normal.

Danny released a relieved sigh as he shifted back to human. Maybe the Data Deleter was another failed project. His parents would be disappointed when they found that out. Leaving the bathroom, he went to join up with his friends. A little time out of his day could be used for fun. His homework would still be waiting for him when he got home from the movies.


	39. Chapter 39

Danny kept saying he was fine, but after what happened yesterday, Tucker couldn't shake the guilty feeling that everything wasn't okay. While Sam was around, they didn't have much of a chance to speak to each other about what happened in Danny's parents' laboratory. They had a brief few seconds while Sam stepped away, and all Danny told him was that he did a bio scan of his body and everything turned up normal. He decided from that that the Data Deleter, which was apparently the proper name, was simply another dud of an invention. It fired well enough, the trigger way more sensitive than Tucker expected because he barely touched the trigger when it went off, but it failed in the effect his parents claimed it had. If it had worked properly, then it probably would have destroyed the digital side of Danny, or so he thought.

The guilt wouldn't leave him alone though, despite Danny repeatedly telling him it was okay. He shot his friend! He shot Danny with something that could have potentially done something horrible to him. He felt terrible, and that feeling was eating him up at that moment. What if that Data Deleter really _did_ do something to Danny? They knew that his parents' inventions didn't always work correctly, but that didn't mean they didn't work in some way. When Danny and Sam both weren't looking, Tucker pulled out his PDA. He didn't know if it would work since Danny was in human form at the time, but he decided it was worth a try. Tapping at the screen, he aimed it at Danny, scanning him for a digital signature. The attempt got him barely any sort of reading, merely a faint flicker of data leaking through his friend's bio readings.

Tucker chewed on his lower lip as he stared at the data he picked up yesterday. Anyone that dared to scan Danny would find it curious to pick up any digital trace upon him. It was a good thing that they weren't required to go through daily scans, or Danny never would have survived this long as Phantom. So far, nothing about the data, what little he had, looked all that different from what he recalled of the data he collected at the football game. He hoped that meant everything really was all right, but he couldn't shake the nagging feeling still lurking inside him.

With a sigh, Tucker shoved his PDA back into the pocket of his pants. Maybe he was thinking too much over what happened in the laboratory. Maybe the Data Deleter didn't actually do anything to Danny, beyond leaving him with an aching chest. Maybe some small, teeny tiny, part of him was hoping something was wrong so that he could feel useful by helping his friend. But then he remembered it would be _his_ fault if something did happen to Danny, and the guilt set in again.

Tucker tugged his winter coat around him then folded his arms. Danny was fighting viruses. Technology was Tucker's strong point, so there had to be _something_ that he could do to help his friend. He was still fiddling around with something that could protect Danny against another EMP. Maybe if he swiped some of the tech from Danny's parents, then he could try to turn them into something more useful for Danny to fight with, or himself. If he had weapons, like Valerie, then he could at least help Danny while he was fighting against viruses. But unlike Valerie, Tucker really didn't know anything about fighting. If the incident in the laboratory taught him anything, it was that he might be more of a liability to Danny than a helpful ally.

"Will you stop walking away from me?"

Hearing the shout, Tucker halted. His gaze snapped around the area as he twisted around to search for the speaker, but there was no one in sight that was talking to him.

"No."

Tucker blinked in surprise when he recognized that as the voice of Kwan. He caught a hint of the jock just around the corner of the building near him before Kwan was turned around.

"Can't you just leave me alone already?" Kwan shouted, and Tucker was shocked by the anger in his voice.

"I'm trying to look out for you."

"I don't need you to! You might be my big brother, but you've never once acted like it, Jing."

"Well, I'm trying to now."

"No, you're trying to protect your own ass."

"Kwan, will you just-"

"Don't touch me!" Kwan jerked away, stepping more into Tucker's view.

"If you know something about that virus-"

"What would I know?" Kwan folded his arms. "You carted it off. By the way, Lancer's _still_ pissed that you busted up his laptop."

"That was my partner."

"Charming guy," Kwan muttered dryly. "He gives me the creeps. And why do you keep trying to get info out of me about it? I'm sure you found out tons of information on it when demolished the laptop."

"The virus wasn't in the laptop."

Kwan blinked then laughed with a touch of cruelty to it that actually sounded strange coming from the jock. "So you let it escape, and now you have to come running to me to figure out more information on the virus. Oh, but what would I know about a virus? After all, I only have a _passing interest_ in computers. I can't possibly be expected to know anything." The bitterness could be heard clearly in his voice, and Tucker started to feel like he really shouldn't be listening to this conversation.

"Kwan, this is serious." The jock's brother spoke firmly. "Twice now, you were at the scene of a virus attack."

"Oh, am I ruining your precious image with the Guys in White? Well, forgive me! Maybe you should just tell Mom and Dad to lock me up. I'm sure they'd be happy to keep their poor excuse for a son locked up so the public can't see him."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The confusion in the jock's brother's question sounded like it mirrored the confusion Tucker felt in overhearing that comment.

"Forget it. I've got things to do. So just butt out of my life." Kwan turned away from his brother, rounding the corner.

Tucker panicked, his body freezing as he failed to think of how to hide from the jock. Kwan might be the nicest jock on the football team and never followed through when it came to chasing down a loser, but Tucker wouldn't be surprised if he decided to punch out the techno geek that was eavesdropping on a private conversation. Kwan hesitated half a moment when their eyes met, and Tucker tried to swallow that nervous lump forming in his throat.

"Kwan," his brother called, coming around the corner. Tucker recognized his fuzzy haired head as the man that he saw walking with Lancer after the EMP at school.

Kwan closed the distance between them, grabbing hold of Tucker's arm and dragging him as he continued walking. "Just ignore him," he muttered as his brother kept trying to get his attention.

Tucker glanced over his shoulder, watching as the other man finally gave up with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Uh," he said uncertainly, not really sure what to say in this situation.

"I'm guessing you heard most of that." The anger and bitterness remained in his voice as Kwan picked up his pace, putting as much distance between him and his brother as possible.

"Not that I was trying to or anything," Tucker said weakly. Lie. He could have lied, but something told him the jock wouldn't buy anything else he might have said.

Kwan sighed tired, and Tucker could practically see the negative emotions leaving him in that one breath. The tension melted out of his broad shoulders, and his grip on Tucker's arm loosened. They were several blocks away by now, and his brother stopped chasing after them a while ago, giving up on the impossible. "It's nothing so just forget about it." Kwan dropped his hand away from the other man's arm.

"Hey, um," Tucker said awkwardly as he looked away and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I know I'm not a friend or anything, but I have ears." He tugged at one of them, feeling weird about even offering this to the jock. "So I can listen if you need to unload anything."

Kwan stared at him, brow pinching in a scrutinizing expression. "My brother's a jerk," he said after a moment and shrugged. "I think he was born with a bug up his ass."

Tucker laughed awkwardly at the imagery. "But that thing," he winced back, afraid that the jock would punch him, "about being, um," he looked away, "a poor excuse for a son."

"It's kind of rude to eavesdrop, you know." Kwan frowned, his aqua green eyes narrowing a fraction with a hint of anger.

"I wasn't trying to! You guys were being really loud," Tucker argued defensively. His mouth snapped shut when he remembered to whom he was speaking. The expression on Kwan's face did not look happy to be spoken to like that. "Look. I know I don't know a whole lot about you or your family or anything, but you always seemed like a pretty good guy. When you weren't chasing after me with the intention of pounding on me." He frowned, remembering all those time that he ran for his life, and not simply from Kwan.

"It's really nothing for you to worry about." Kwan glanced around like he was looking for something. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends or something?"

"We just did. At the Nasty Burger. But then Danny had homework to do and Sam apparently had some family thing to do or something." Tucker sighed at being left alone. Lifting his gaze, he pondered over another part of the conversation he overheard. "Why does your brother think you know anything about the viruses that attacked the school?"

Sighing, Kwan ran a hand through his hair then scratched at the back of his head. "Lancer came to me when a virus got into his laptop at school and wanted me to track it down. It seemed like a pretty sophisticated virus, but I couldn't track it back to the source. Not in that short amount of time. Then my brother had to show up and confiscate the computer. " He rolled his eyes. "And he probably blames me for the virus escaping."

A chill ran through him as Tucker remembered Kwan mentioning his brother worked for the Guys in White. "Wait." He blinked in surprise. "You actually know how to do something like that?"

"I'm not a complete idiot," Kwan muttered, folding his arms and turning his head away. Despite the protest, doubt flickered in his eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that," Tucker said quickly, hoping to smooth things over with the jock. "It's just that you never struck me as the techno geek type."

"I don't exactly go around broadcasting it to the whole school. Imagine how well that would go with the rest of the jocks."

Tucker gulped as he thought about how _that_ would go. A lot of the jocks, and the A list for that matter, didn't exactly care for things like intelligence. Being revealed as a techno geek probably would have gotten Kwan kicked out the In crowd. Tucker wouldn't put it past the rest of the jocks to drive him off the football team too.

Something passed through Kwan's eyes as he stared at Tucker. "What did you figure out from that data you got at the football game?"

The question sent a jolt through him. Tucker recalled the jock commenting that he couldn't understand the coding he saw. At the time, he thought it was simply because Kwan was just another dumb jock, but now he realized that Kwan actually did know something about tech and coding.

"Uh, well," Tucker mumbled as his eyes darted around nervously. This was a dangerous topic to be discussing, though thankfully not many people were walking past them. "The data kind of got deleted somehow, so I didn't really get much done on decoding it."

"How do you even let that happen?" Kwan shook his head as he dug his hand into his pocket. Pulling out a PDA in a silvery blue color, he tapped at the screen a few times before he turned it around to show Tucker.

"How did you get that?" Tucker demanded, grabbing the PDA from Kwan's hand as he stared at the familiar Phantom coding.

"Duh." Kwan rolled his eyes. "I copied it from you. But here's the interesting thing." He made a few adjustments to what was on the screen, and Tucker's mouth nearly dropped to the ground.

"A double helix?" Tucker glanced up questioningly at the jock. It was so obvious that he couldn't believe he didn't realize that sooner. Now that he knew the truth, it only made sense for the coding to resemble DNA.

"Yeah, it took me all night to figure that out." Kwan scratched at his head as he frowned. "But that's where things got even weirder. I mean, who even thinks to write coding like DNA? That doesn't seem very logical. But I decided to try decoding the DNA, and-" he pulled up something else on the screen. The two spirals of double helixes overlaid before separating and flashing MATCH on the screen.

Tucker swallowed, his throat constricting and his hands feeling sweaty as he read the name over the human DNA sequence. "How did you get that?" His words felt like they came out in a wheeze. Breathing seemed to be a forgotten ability to him as his heart hammered in his chest.

"I may have hacked some records to get a database of DNA to compare it to." Kwan glanced away nervously after admitting to such an illegal activity.

"Kwan, you can't tell anyone about this," Tucker said seriously as he grabbed hold of the jock. He was in full on panic mode, feeling a sense of déjà vu like when Danny told him that Lancer knew his secret. "I really mean it. Like - Shit!" He backed up a step, his green eyes growing wide. "You seriously can't let any of this slip to your brother." He grabbed hold of the confused jock, yanking his head closer as he lowered his face. "You can't tell anyone that Danny is Phantom. If it got out - I mean, god! Imagine if the Guys in White or his parents got a hold of him. And-"

"Foley!" Kwan shook him with a hard jerk that silenced him. "What are you talking about? How can Fenton possibly be Phantom?" He blinked, his eyes gazing upward for a moment as his mouth moved silently. "Well, I mean, there is some similarity in their names. But Fenton's human, and Phantom's a program."

"Wait. You," Tucker eyed him hesitantly, "didn't know?" He paled at the blank expression on the jock's face. "Oh shit. Um, just, uh - Just pretend I didn't say anything." He laughed awkwardly, patting Kwan on the shoulder as he backed away. "Nope. This conversation never happened." Danny was going to kill him if he found out his best friend so stupidly let his secret slip out like that.

The gears were slowly turning in Kwan's mind, and his eyes gradually grew wider as his mouth dropped open. "No way," he gasped out in surprise. "How is that even possible that Fenton is Phantom? I mean, it's not possible for someone to be," he fumbled for the appropriate word, "digital."

"Well, you know Danny's parents. They always have some crazy new invention. And there was this accident." Tucker shook his head. "Look, Kwan. I know you have no reasons to do me any favors. But this is about Danny's _life_! You gotta promise that you won't breathe a word about the fact that he's Phantom."

Kwan gave him a flat stare, annoyance creeping into his eyes. "Danny's a great guy. He's nice and funny and smart. I'm not going to go around shouting out his secrets to everyone. I'm kind of insulted that you think I would do that. I like Danny. I'm not going to do something that could hurt him, and certainly not something that might seriously endanger his life."

"I-" Tucker frowned, lowering his eyes as his shoulders sag. He kind of felt bad for thinking so poorly of the jock. "I didn't mean it like that. Danny's my best friend. I just didn't want you accidentally letting something slip around someone that could potentially really hurt him."

Kwan nodded as an understanding look passed through his eyes. "I can understand that. If it were Dash, I would panic over anyone finding out my best friend's secret. I promise no one will hear anything about it from me."

"Thanks." Tucker breathed out in relief. Some thought wiggled through to front of his mind, but he felt hesitant to mention it. "Um, I'm a little worried about Danny. Being all digital, who knows what kind of effects that has on his physical body?" He shifted uncomfortably and wiped sweaty hands on his clothes. "Since you know tech and stuff, um, do you think you can help me monitor him? You know, just to check and make sure this whole digital thing isn't doing anything bad to him?" He decided to leave out the whole part where he shot Danny with the Data Deleter, still feeling rather guilty about the incident.

Kwan eyed him curiously at that request. "I suppose I could do that."

Tucker snapped his fingers as another thought occurred to him. "You can help me figure out a way to protect Danny from another EMP!"

"What happened to him during the EMP?" Kwan gawked horrified as Tucker reminded him of that event.

"Oh, Kwan." Tucker patted the jock on the shoulder. "The things I have to tell you."


	40. Chapter 40

After taking a break from his homework to hang out with his friends at the Nasty Burger for a quick lunch, Danny headed back to his house. He still had a few assignments left to finish, but he felt pretty confident that they could be done rather quickly, which was why they were shoved to the bottom of his homework to do list. He decided after the movie yesterday to focus on the homework that would take him the longest to finish, that being his math assignment which always felt like a nightmare to him. It still took him quite some time to complete all the problems, but remembering his lesson with Vlad the prior day, Danny actually felt somewhat confident as he puzzled at the answers.

Closing the door behind him, Danny started to head up the stairs again to his room when he heard voices from the front room. He walked to the doorway and blinked in surprise to find Vlad sitting on the couch with his father. His parents came home late last night, neither one in a good mood after being denied permission to close the school down in the search for viruses. Beyond the destruction done to the football field, those spider viruses that kept popping up all over the high school weren't doing anything harmful. At least, not that the mayor knew about. The mayor didn't want to shut down the school unless students were in real physical danger. Apparently the soonest the mayor would allow his parents access to the school was over the winter break when students and faculty wouldn't be in the building.

"Danny, my boy!" Jack grinned widely when he spotted his son standing in the doorway to the front room. "You remember my good old buddy Vladdie." He patted the other man on the back, nearly knocking Vlad over with the force of it. His father never seemed to realize just how strong he was and tended to put more strength into something than he should. His hugs could feel deadly when his crushing arms felt like they would rupture internal organs or shatter bones.

Vlad coughed as he sat up straight, smoothing out his suit. "We were just having a nice little chat about you."

Danny's mouth parted as he stared in disbelief at the silver haired man. Why was Vlad speaking to his father about him? He eyed the man nervously. "It's a shame you got called away on business last time."

"Well, it was important business so you'll have to forgive me," Vlad said, easily playing the part of a man meeting his old college friend's son for the second time. It was almost scary, in a way, how the man could easily slip on the masks and act out a role, making Danny wonder if the man was ever involved in theater before the accident that left him with digital powers.

"You should stay for dinner!" Jack grinned proudly at his suggestion.

"I'm afraid this was just a quick visit, Jack," Vlad said as he stood. "I'm quite a busy man, and I must get back to tending to the details of a new project." His dark blue eyes slid toward Danny, who realized the man's "new project" was training him.

"Yeah, and I've got a lot of homework I still have to finish," Danny said, backing out of the front room. It was only a small lie since the rest of his homework could be done fairly quickly.

"But, V-man!" Jack frowned, almost pouting over the fact that his friend was going to leave.

"Jack, dear," Maddie said as she entered the front room from the kitchen entrance. She wore a frown, holding the Data Deleter in her hands. Danny unconsciously shuddered when he saw it, recalling how much it hurt to be shot with that weapon. "Were you messing around in the lab earlier?" The Data Delete was held up like it was proof to his misdeeds, and she was waiting for him to confess to his crimes.

"No. Why?" Jack looked genuinely baffled by her inquiry, and nervousness bubbled up inside Danny. It probably would have been wise to check on everything in the laboratory before he left for the movies yesterday with Tucker and Sam, but at the time, Danny was far more concerned with getting Sam out of the house and convincing her that he didn't need to go to the hospital after being shot by the Data Deleter. He still had an ugly round red mark in the center of his chest, but the aching, thankfully, lessened since yesterday.

"I was just down there," Maddie explained, giving the weapon in her hands a suspicious look, "and the Data Deleter wasn't on the stand like it was supposed to be. And," her expression turned severe as she adjusted her hold on the weapon, displaying the damage done to it for those in the room to see, "it wasn't like this before we left yesterday." Her violet eyes turned sharply toward her son, and Danny jerked back a step.

"I went out with Tuck and Sam yesterday," Danny said as it was the only part that wasn't a completely lie. "And when I got back, I headed up to my room to do homework." He could see Vlad out of the corner of his eye. The man wore half a smirk, and Danny suspected Vlad guessed that he was lying through omission of facts.

Maddie frowned, puzzling over the mystery of the damaged weapon. "I don't think we have the specific parts to fix the damage."

"To the store!" Jack shouted with enthusiasm as he rose to his feet with one arm lifted above his head and a finger pointed at the ceiling. His expression fell, and he glanced toward Vlad. "Uh, about dinner-"

"Quite all right, Jack." Vlad shook his head with a smile to show no hard feelings. "I should be heading out now anyway."

"Then to the RV!" The enthusiasm returned swiftly as Jack grabbed his wife by the arm and led her toward the front door. Vlad walked to the door with them and followed them outside.

Moving to sit on the bottom step, Danny leaned back against the stairs with his blue eyes trained on the front door. He heard the RV's engine rev up, a loud rumbling noise that usually bugged the neighbors. The sound faded into the distance as his parents drove away, and moments after he couldn't hear the RV anymore, the front door opened again. Vlad stepped into the house, and there was no reason to question why he was visiting Fenton Works.

"You could have just messaged me if you wanted to schedule more training," Danny said as he stood.

"You think I don't occasionally miss getting to speak with old friends?" Vlad questioned, frowning with a dry stare.

"You could have contacted them at any point," Danny snapped back before biting his tongue. His eyes lowered, drifting to one side, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I just mean that my parents would have been happy just getting a simply letter from you over the years."

"I wasn't in the best frame of mind to be speaking with them." Vlad's voice was strained as he spoke.

Danny looked up at him and frowned as he observed the tension in the man's expression, trying too hard to keep it calm and neutral. "What exactly happened between you and my parents?"

His mouth pressed together, and Vlad looked like he didn't want to talk about it, least of all with Danny. "I had feelings for your mother," he confessed, and Danny felt strangely overly aware that he used the term feelings rather than saying he was in love with her. "My whole plan was to confess to her after the success of our Proto Materialization Portal." Vlad sighed tiredly. "And as you know, that test didn't exactly go well for me. Up until I collapsed during a meeting, I made many plots to win Maddie. I blamed everything on Jack, angry at him for doing this to me and stealing away your mother. You can't imagine the anger I felt for so many years, Daniel. But if years spent isolated from almost everything has taught me anything, it's to finally let go of some of that anger." He crossed over to the nearest access point. "Now, shall we get on with today's lesson?"

Danny sighed, pretending to sound put out by the idea of another training session. He followed Vlad into the NetZone, feeling excited about what new things the man would teach him this time. Friday night was spent practicing some more with healing and shields as well as working on Danny's fighting technique. He even managed to produced an electrified energy ball, and Vlad showed him that he could do more with the plates of energies beyond simply using them like a shield. He could make a platform to stand on or create stairs, something he thought would have been quite useful to know when he fell into the under level. He could have put up a field of energy plates to stop his fall and made stairs to climb back out before he fell beyond the point of no return.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Danny asked, stretching his arms over his head. He liked being able to heal now, but taking a pounding from the other man wasn't exactly on his list of fun things.

"I thought a little field trip." Vlad led the way through the NetZone.

Danny felt hesitant after hearing that answer. "A field trip? Where exactly are we going?" He eyed the man with a certain amount of suspicion. It didn't seem like Vlad cared all that much about leaving his domain, and Danny wasn't sure this surprise field trip was going to be something he would like. Surprises tended not to be a good thing for him, like the accident with the Material Portal and the incident with EMP and Tucker shooting him with the Data Deleter. Danny stared dully at the man walking half a step ahead of him to his left. Surprises tended to very bad things in his case.

"You'll have to wait until we get there."

His mouth pursed. Danny definitely didn't like that answer. They walked on in silence until they arrived at a tube like structure that rose up high into the "sky" of the NetZone. Danny tilted his head back, but he couldn't see the end of it. Vlad approached the tube, and a screen asking for a password popped up in front of him. He quickly typed it out before Danny could even catch what it was.

"After you," Vlad said, almost bowing as a doorway opened within the tube.

"What exactly is this place?" Frowning, Danny passed him and entered the tube. Vlad acting like that, doing that sort of gentlemanly bow, was weird to him. Inside the tube, the room was plain without any sort of decoration within it. Only comfortable seating wrapped around the room. Danny crossed it and dropped onto the cushy seat.

"An elevator." Vlad sat down, leaving plenty of space between them as the door slid shut.

A jerk jolted Danny, and Vlad smirked at the startled reaction the movement of the elevator produced in the other man. Danny scowled at him then folded his arms as he turned his head away. As much he wanted to question the man, it seemed obvious that Vlad wasn't going to give him any details about what his little surprise field trip was. His green eyes swept around the room, but there really wasn't much of anything to see. It didn't even have windows so that he could look out and see how far up they traveled. When he glanced at the other man, Danny frowned at the calm, peaceful expression on Vlad as he sat there with his arms folded, one leg crossed over the other, and his eyes closed. For some reason, that pissed him off. Vlad was all relaxed about wherever they were going while Danny started to feel even more like he would hate whatever this surprise was.

Hours could have passed in the silence of that room. Danny's leg started shaking out of boredom and impatience. Sitting still with nothing to do grated on him. He thought several times about breaking the silence, starting up a conversation, but he hesitated, not knowing what to even say.

The elevator came a stop suddenly, and Danny tried to brace himself without much luck. He, at least, managed not to jump idiotically again, but he still thought he saw a smirk on Vlad's face. Getting to his feet, he followed the man out of the elevator. Green eyes drifted around the unfamiliar surroundings, spotting several programs moving about and working on something. When they spotted Vlad, the programs halted to salute him before jumping right back to their work.

"Care to clue me in at any point?" Danny didn't know what to think as they walked through this section of the NetZone.

"This is my personal satellite," Vlad explained in an offhanded sort of way that made it seem like he was trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing, like owning his own satellite was insignificant. He halted in front of an access point, and Danny thought it was kind of weird that a satellite would have one. But then, most places had access points, so maybe it wasn't all that strange in the end. "Do you think you can manage this?"

Danny watched as coding appeared around Vlad's head. In a moment, the binary makeup shattered, the broken pieces of the ones and zeroes turning fuzzy as they faded out of existence. He blinked at the helmet that was left behind, looking like something that would help the man breathe in an environment low in oxygen.

"I'm," Danny started slowly as his brow pinched, "not even sure how you did that."

Vlad breathed in, annoyance passing through his red eyes behind the shaded visor of his helmet, but he managed to resist sighing out. "It's a simply matter of drawing up energy and giving form to it. When you summon an energy ball, you don't put much thought into it." He held up a hand as a ball of pinkish red energy gathered within his palm. "Electrifying it takes a little more thought." Whitish pink sparks danced over the ball before he closed his hand, extinguishing it. "It's the same principal. Just focus on an oxygen mask like this one," he tapped at the helmet he wore, "while you're calling up your energy."

Danny gave him a doubtful look, frowning at how simple that sounded. Sighing, he closed his eyes and focused on doing as Vlad described. Nothing happened at first, and he could practically feel the impatient glare boring into him, which didn't help him keep his concentration.

"Excellent."

Danny blinked his eyes open when Vlad's commented distracted him. The man wore that half smirk that always came off looking smug, but as he stared at it, Danny thought he saw a bit of pride in Vlad's expression. He reached up a white gloved hand and touched it to the side of his head, realizing with a start that a helmet much like Vlad's now encased his head.

"I did it," Danny mumbled in his surprise, taking much too long to digest that simple fact.

"Not so difficult, is it?" Vlad held out a hand to him. "Shall we then?"

Danny stared at the proffered hand, still feeling hesitant about this whole thing. What exactly did Vlad have planned? Uncertainly, he took hold of the hand, and Vlad pulled him through the access point. He didn't know what to expect when they left the NetZone. Axion Labs, maybe? He found he couldn't really think of anywhere that Vlad would want to take him on this "field trip." He actually didn't really know all that much about the man beyond that he was a billionaire running one of the most successful companies in the world, that accident that happened to him, and his feelings toward Maddie. The last point poked at him like a thorn to the side. Despite his feelings, though, Vlad at least seemed to be stepping back and letting his old friends be happy together. But that made Danny wonder how different things would be if Vlad hadn't discovered his limitations to living outside the NetZone. Would Vlad still be trying to take Maddie away from Jack and plotting ways to kill off Jack?

But those thoughts were banished to the far reaches of his mind as he glanced around, his mouth gaping open. All around him were thousands of stars like diamonds set against a black backdrop. He could pick out various constellations, and the moon was so big floating off toward their right. Dropping his gaze, he gasped in wonder to see the Earth from such a far distance away. He had only seen an image like this in books and on television. But those mediums didn't compare to the beauty of staring at it with his own eyes.

"This is amazing," Danny whispered, unable to tear his gaze away from the view for several long moments, drinking it in like it might vanish in an instant. When he could look away, he turned his wide eyed surprise on Vlad, who still held onto his hand, anchoring him to the satellite so that he would drift off into space. "I don't understand." His brow furrowed as he frowned at the man, his awe shifting rapidly to confusion.

"Admittedly, I wasn't expecting to run into your father today," Vlad said with only a mild frown. "But since you were out at the time, I thought I would take advantage of the moment and make inquiries about you to your father."

"Because asking me would have been so very hard?" Danny narrowed his eyes a touch. Something about the idea of Vlad gathering information on him through his father felt unsettling.

"And ruin the surprise?" An almost roguish smirk played across Vlad's face. "And it hardly seemed out of the ordinary. After all, I've missed out on eighteen years of your life. It would only be natural for me to want to ask about you. Your father probably thought I was trying to figure out what best to get you as a gift to make up that lost time."

"And were you going to get me a gift?" Danny still didn't think he liked the whole idea, even if Vlad was trying to do something nice. They were getting along better now after he made his apologies, but Danny didn't think they crossed into gift giving territory, or if there even was such territory between them.

Vlad stared dully at him for several moments that made Danny start to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. "This doesn't seem like enough of a gift to you?" He arched in eyebrow in question.

"No, that's not - I mean-" His cheeks were growing warm with embarrassment, and Danny turned his head away, absently scratching at the side of his helmet as he forgot that it was there. Who even did something like this? His dream since he could remember was to be an astronaut, but he never imagined being brought into space as some sort of gift. "It's, um - Thanks. I really appreciate this." It surprised him when Vlad smiled. Not that smug looking smirk, but an actual, genuine smile. Danny had to look away again.

"Your father did mention that you had a love for space," Vlad explained as he glanced out around at the starry darkness surrounding them. "I thought bringing you here would be a good way to make amends." He sighed as he tugged on Danny's arm, reigning him back in close to the satellite. "I may have been cruel springing that information on you like that. And I responded to your natural reaction of being angry by acting in turn like a child. I could have been a little more delicate with that information. I only wished for you to be informed about that aspect of being what we are. I didn't want you to go through that same terrifying experience that I did. You can't imagine what I felt when that happened to me, and I was all alone in going through it."

Danny thought about that, pictured things from Vlad's perspective like Lancer suggested, and he frowned. The idea of collapsing and being told that he was dying while the doctors couldn't determine even what was happening to him was indeed terrifying. And going through it alone made it seem a thousand times worse.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

Vlad eyed him before nodding, like he had to take the moment to determine if Danny was being sincere or not. "When your father told me about your dream of being an astronaut," he said, drawing the conversation back around to why they were there, "I thought this would be a good opportunity to bring you here. It's not quite the same as being an astronaut. But being a digital being doesn't mean you can't experience traveling among the stars."

His mouth parted slightly as Danny stared at Vlad, absorbing those words. Was Vlad trying to comfort him? His mind didn't know what to do with that fact. It was on the same level as finding out that Dash had a crush on him. "Thanks," he repeated. "I mean, this," he turned again to stare at the Earth and space, "is really amazing. Thanks for bringing me here."


	41. Chapter 41

The ride down in the elevator from the satellite was much more relaxed than their journey up. Now that that awkward silence between them was broken, Daniel started babbling at great length about his knowledge on space with much enthusiasm. Vlad nearly sighed at that point, for it seemed Daniel inherited his father's ability to blather on without end, which could be quite tiresome at times. Strangely though, Vlad found he was smiling as the young man talked.

Daniel glanced his way briefly before turning his gaze away again and scratching at his cheek with one finger in a show of embarrassment that was almost cute. Vlad almost jerked visibly as he frowned. He should certainly not be thinking of the young man as cute. It wasn't because of something as trivial as the fact that Daniel was a man. Vlad had experiences in that department in his youth, long before that accident that gave him his digital powers. No, that certainly wasn't the alarming issue here. Daniel was young enough to be his son. In fact, if Vlad had his way in the past and married Maddie instead of Jack, Daniel could very well _be_ his son. He was nearly three times older than Daniel! Cute was not a term he should be using to describe someone that much younger than he.

"Sorry," Daniel mumbled, shifting awkwardly where he sat as the elevator neared the ground level of the NetZone. "I guess I kind of ramble when I get going on space." He glanced Vlad's way again and seemed to be searching for something. "What kind of things were - are you interested in?" He laughed with some nervousness. "I mean, I guess you had an interest in viruses like my parents if you did research with them back in college. But, um, what got you interested in studying them?"

Vlad realized he hadn't thought about the reason why he got interested in viruses in ages. Thinking on it now, it felt like a faraway dream, or a story he once heard from someone else instead his own past. "It was quite some time before I went to college. I believe I was sixteen at the time," he explained, trying to recall the events the led up to his interest in studying the NetZone. "An incident occurred. A virus managed to escape from the NetZone. The first in fact. The Guys in White were quite quick to capture it."

Perhaps too quick, he realized now as he retold the story. The GIW were good at making messes, and it wouldn't surprise him if they inadvertently created something that drew out the virus by accident. From the fact that the GIW weren't able to yank out a virus from the NetZone, Vlad assumed that whatever their method was back then, it wasn't a reliable one. Or possibly, they weren't aware that it was their doing in the first place, assuming of course that they did cause the virus to appear in the real world.

"They tried to cover it up, of course," Vlad continued, not revealing those thoughts to Daniel. "Erased everything about the incident that they could find. But," a smirk twisted upon his face, "they couldn't destroy all evidence of that event. I was always fairly decent at working with technology, so naturally, after learning about that incident, I started doing my own research on viruses and the NetZone. Then when I went to college, I bumped into your parents, both of whom recalled that same incident. The club was Jack's idea, of course. We met almost daily to share notes and ideas on inventions. All of us entranced by the whole idea of viruses taking on humanoid appearances. Your father was the one that brought up the idea of finding some way to be able to pull out a virus from the NetZone. To give it a physical body within the real world, like with the incident we remembered so well, so that we could examine it in real life."

Daniel looked thoughtful for a moment, chewing over the answer he was given. "I never even really asked my parents about what got them interested in researching the whole NetZone and viruses." A grumpy expression crossed his face. "But it was always sort of embarrassing having them running around like maniacs with crazy inventions. People thought they were complete nut jobs until viruses actually started popping out into the real world."

"It's easy to discredit people when there's no proof to support their claims," Vlad agreed, understanding how Daniel could find his parents' behavior embarrassing, especially among his peers. If he hadn't known about that little incident, Vlad doubted he would believe anything about viruses, or programs, adopting humanoid appearances within the NetZone. Or even that the NetZone was a world within itself beyond just wires connecting various technology. "It's happened numerous times throughout history. The world being flat. The Earth being the center of the universe. People being accused of witchcraft. The list goes on and on. And until people could prove themselves correct in their thinking, many wrote them off as crazy."

Daniel nodded as he listened to Vlad. "I guess we shouldn't be too quick to judge people just because their ideas sound a little out there."

"You never know. The next time you hear someone talking about something that sounds completely unbelievable, they might end up coming out with something that changes the world as we see it and make millions." Vlad smirked somewhat at that thinking. It was because of his immersion into the NetZone, thanks to his powers, that he was able to build such a successful company. That was perhaps one reason to thank Jack for that little screw up, though money hardly mattered to him while living within the NetZone.

The elevator reached the ground level, and the door slid open to allow them to exit. Daniel stepped out first, stretching his arms over his head. He walked around in a small circle to work out his stiff legs from sitting for the long duration. Vlad followed suit, and the elevator sealed itself shut behind him. When he went to Daniel's house earlier, he never intended to take the young man up to his personal satellite. After speaking to his father, however, Vlad felt some pity toward Daniel, knowing the weight of a crushed dream all too well. It was a spur of the moment decision when Daniel finally arrived home, a small way to cheer him up, and also to make his own apology to the young man.

"I can allow you access if you wish to visit again," Vlad announced as Daniel finished with his stretching.

"What?" Daniel blinked owlishly, stunned by the offer. "Really?" His green eyes lit up with hope that he could return to the satellite again to see space with his own eyes.

Vlad nodded with a very small smile. "But you must be certain not to get in the way of any programs working there."

"Of course not! I promise!" Daniel grinned excitedly at the prospect, and his happiness was nearly infectious.

Vlad's mouth twitched, the corners threatening to spread into a smile before he managed to control his expression. "Now. If you're feeling up to it, we can continue with our training. Since you've learned some about energy manipulation, we can start on something new."

The thoughtful expression returned to Daniel's face as he held his chin in a hand. "So," he said slowly before lifting his gaze toward Vlad, "basically we can manipulate our energy to create virtually... anything?"

Vlad raised an eyebrow as he eyed the man curiously, wondering what thoughts were churning through his brain. "That is quite possible."

After a nod, Daniel's face scrunched up in concentration. Vlad frowned to himself as his mind once again wished to categorize the expression as "cute." Tearing his gaze away from the young man, he focused his attention onto what Daniel was trying to accomplish. He noted the familiar binary coding forming before them in a strange lumpy shape that expanded somewhat as the young man focused his thoughts. He blinked in mild surprise while watching Daniel work. With no one to guide him, Vlad stumbled onto the whole energy manipulation ability through trial and error.

After several moments, the ones and zeroes shattered apart much like they did after Daniel formed his helmet. What was left behind took Vlad by surprised. He walked over, running his gloved hand over the sleek smooth curves of the object. When he turned back to Daniel, bent over as he panted after the effort, Vlad gave the young man a curious look.

"A motorcycle?" Vlad inquired when Daniel straightened. "A little ambitious there for only your second attempt, don't you think?"

Daniel shrugged with a cocky little grin. "Thought I'd give it a shot." He stepped up to his newly crafted motorcycle and easily climbed onto it. "I always thought the idea of a motorcycle would be cool, but my parents want me to learn the responsibility of money so they won't buy me anything to use for transportation. And with school and fighting viruses eating up my time, I don't exactly have a lot to spare to take on a part time job so that I can afford anything." He turned a grin on Vlad. "And it's a long walk back to your place. I figured this would make the trip faster."

Vlad did admit the young man had a point. It would be quite a walk from the satellite elevator back to his domain. His mouth pursed slightly, annoyed with himself that he never thought of crafting something similar when he needed to get around the NetZone. But it was such a rare occurrence when he _did_ need to get somewhere. Or used to be rare. He became a lot more active since Daniel turned up at his domain for the first time.

Daniel patted the seat of the motorcycle behind him as the grin remained firmly on his face. "Hop on!"

Vlad snorted at the request. "Do you even know how drive it?"

Daniel's face fell as he returned Vlad's inquisitive look with a flat glare. "I do have a driver's license." He frowned then added in a mutter, "Even if I don't have a car."

"Yes, but driving a car isn't the same as a motorcycle." Vlad remained hesitant, not certain of the young man's ability to actually control the vehicle that he chose to craft.

"Just get on," Daniel ordered grumpily.

It almost made him smirk to see Daniel respond so easily to a little prodding, but Vlad managed to keep his expression schooled. He slid into place behind the young man, situating himself snuggly against his backside as he snaked his arms loosely about Daniel's body to secure himself for the ride. No longer in view of the man, Vlad allowed a smirk to slip onto his face as he felt the tension in the man's body.

"Sure you know how to drive this thing?" Vlad questioned, almost allowing a teasing note to enter his voice.

"Yes," Daniel snapped quickly, and if he could see the man's face at that moment, Vlad was certain he would find a blush upon his cheeks.

Daniel didn't wait for anymore comments before he started up the motorcycle. There was a squeal of the wheels against the ground that made Vlad wince. Then they tore away from the elevator, heading in the direction of his domain. At the forward jerk, Vlad tightened his arms around the young man. Snow white hair fluttered backward as they sped along through the NetZone. Wrinkling his nose, Vlad turned his head aside, making a note to remind Daniel to wear a helmet next time, if the man could manage to focus on keeping two things in existence at the same time.

The motorcycle was indeed a good idea, and they reached his domain in good time. It would have taken much longer to cross that distance on foot. When they arrived, Vlad was happy to be able to place his feet on firm ground again. Daniel may not have fully inherited his father's reckless driving skills, but that didn't make his racing around the NetZone seem any less terrifying. Vlad thought perhaps it was a good thing that there was plenty of wide open space for Daniel to drive through without crashing into anything. Once Daniel was off it, the motorcycle turned blocky and dissolved into nothing.

"That energy manipulation thing seems like it'll be really handy," Daniel commented as Vlad typed in the password to his firewall to all them entry.

"I find it to be," Vlad agreed, entering his domain. Daniel followed, and the firewall closed off after him.

Once they were inside, Cujo decided to pop out again, appearing suddenly at Daniel's side after jumping out of the watch that the man wore in his human appearance. With a bark and wag of his tail, he trotted off to pester the cat curled in a cushy little basket bed that Vlad created for her. It seemed his domain was taking on more homey aspects since he met Daniel.

The two pieces of virus coding that were pulled from Daniel remained at his desk. He eyed the one with whitish yellow sparks. He was still puzzling out the mystery of that latest problem. After Daniel left his domain early yesterday morning, Vlad spent quite a bit of his time toying with the coding, trying to decipher its purpose and why the unknown virus wanted to infect Phantom with it. What game was this virus playing with Phantom? First it manipulated events to give young Miss Gray that digital suit and a vendetta against Phantom. Now it was trying to plant harmful coding into Phantom. A grim frown cross his face, and he thought it was indeed a very good thing that Daniel came to him when he did and started learning how to fix his damaged coding and remove infections. If left alone, who knew what that virus could have done to him?

"Now," Vlad said as he turned to face Daniel and clasped his hands together. All signs of dark thoughts washed away, and he focused on the task at hand. Daniel still had much to learn. "As you are quite familiar with manipulating your energy into useful items, I think it would be wise for you to choose a weapon."

Daniel blinked. "A weapon?" he parroted as his bafflement caused his brows to draw together. "Why do I need to choose a weapon?"

"For combat," Vlad replied without emotion, though his gaze clearly read that he thought the man had to be joking. "I'm sure you've noticed that virus tend to utilize weapons of their own choosing."

"Yeah," Daniel said slowly, eying the man before him. "Skulker uses lots of different projectile weapons. And that female one at the game had a guitar. And the Box Bug," he paused then shook his head with a snort of a laugh, "obviously uses boxes. But I've always just used the energy balls."

"Because that was basically all you knew," Vlad reminded. It wasn't until he caught the green eyed glare directed at him that he realized his words came out a little more cruelly than intended. "You're progressing quite nicely though," he amended in an attempt to smooth over the previous comment. "While you are capable of making any weapon you so desire in any given situation, I would suggest a single default weapon." He extended an arm before him, and with very little concentration, the energy expanded from his hand and quickly formed a sharp edged sword. "The advantage of a default weapon is that the more you use it, the easier it is to craft until you barely have to think about it. In a battle, time is an important factor. Too slowly in choosing a weapon and materializing it could cost you dearly. If a situation calls for another weapon more suitable to dealing with your opponent, you can still utilize your default weapon to buy yourself the time needed to form a different one."

Vlad watched as his words slowly sank into the man's mind. Daniel was absorbing the advice, and Vlad could practically see the words etching themselves into his brain so that they would remain forever present in his head.

"That does seem to make a lot of sense," Daniel agreed. His bit his lower lip as he pondered. Raising an arm, he focused, and his brow set with deep lines of concentration. It took him time, much like with the helmet and the motorcycle, but it came easier than the latter. When it was done, he held a sleek black shaft in his hand with a curved blade at one end that glowed green like his eyes.

"A scythe?" Vlad's red eyes roamed over the weapon of choice curiously.

Daniel frowned, lower lip jutting out only slightly. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not." Vlad shook his head. It was, after all, Daniel's choice, and it should be something that he wanted to use as a weapon. "Now banish it, but remember it in every detail."

"Okay. But why?" The scythe vanished, but Daniel's frown remained as he eyed Vlad with some skepticism.

"Because now," Vlad smirked, brandishing his sword, "I'm going to give you some real combat experience."


	42. Chapter 42

He felt absolutely ridiculous. It didn't help that the moment he entered the school with his friends, all eyes seemed to be drawn to him. He expected the snickering, being used to it after the incident in freshmen year. The wolfish whistles as he passed, on the other hand, made his face heat up with a blush that he tried futilely to fight back. Sighing, Danny grabbed some things out of his locker before classes started.

"Aren't you freezing in that?" Tucker asked with his PDA ever present in his hand. He glanced up over the top of his glasses as he frowned.

"Of course, I am," Danny grumbled, nudging his locker shut with an elbow as he slung his book bag over one shoulder. "It's only December with the prediction of snow on the way, and I'm standing here in a skirt that barely reaches my knees." He glared flatly at his friend. Luckily, he managed to find a pair of spandex bike shorts to wear underneath the skirt, which turned out to be a good thing when one of the jocks passed him earlier and tried to flip up the back of the skirt while the group of football players laughed. Danny thanked whoever was actually looking out for him that he didn't run into Calvin Williams yet.

Sam only made a brief stop at the lockers before disappearing off to Danny didn't know where. But he didn't mind the quick departure since it allowed him the chance to talk with Tucker privately. Danny grabbed hold of his friend's arm and dragged him to a more secluded part of the school where they would be perfectly alone and could avoid being overheard.

"So guess who was waiting for me when I got back from the Nasty Burger yesterday," Danny started as he dropped into one of the seats in the theater. None of the drama students were around yet, so it was safe for them to talk there.

"Since you're in one piece, I'm going to say not a vicious virus out for your blood." Tucker joined him, leaning back in his seat as he put his feet up on the seat in front of him. The PDA was still out and in his hand.

Danny rolled his eyes before landing his gaze back onto his friend. "Obviously not a virus." Sighing, he pulled off the wig while they were alone so that he could scratched at his head. "Vlad was there. You know, training and stuff. Oh, I learned this whole cool thing with manipulating my energy." He grinned as he remembered that new skill. "Being able to make a motorcycle out of nothing is pretty awesome."

"Dude, you have to show me that some time!" Tucker's green eyes were wide with amazement.

"I will." Danny chuckled. "Later. When we aren't at school." His smile faltered somewhat as he played with the ebony locks of his wig. "But before that whole training thing-" And what a training it was! Vlad really put him through the ringer yesterday as he taught Danny how to fight with a weapon. His attacks were rather clumsy at first, not used to wielding something like a scythe. He thought maybe something like the sword Vlad used would be easier, but the scythe popped into his head first. By the time he left to go home, at nearly midnight, he could form the scythe almost as quickly as Vlad could his sword.

"Vlad has this personal satellite," Danny continued, his nose wrinkling up as he felt that tickle of an oncoming sneeze.

"I'm so not surprised by that." A frown drew across Tucker's face. "I mean, the guy _is_ a billionaire after all. I bet he has a huge castle somewhere. Maybe even two or three."

Danny opened his mouth to shoot back a snarky comment about how useless that would be for the man since Vlad was confined to the NetZone for the majority of his time. That kind of comment would probably bring up questions, and he really didn't want to tell Tucker about what was said during his first conversation with Vlad. Turning his head, he sneezed hard. He groaned as he dug through his book bag for a handkerchief and wiped his nose clean. He really hoped he was getting sick.

" _Anyway_ ," he said after blowing his nose. "He took me up there yesterday. Kind of making up for acting like a jerk to me when we met. Man, you should have been there because the view of Earth from way up there," he pointed upward toward the ceiling, "is amazing. Mind blowing and beautiful. There is no comparison to seeing that with your own eyes." He sighed out with a dopey smile on his face as he remembered that vision.

"I don't know, Danny." A sly grin crossed Tucker's face, and Danny frowned in uncertainty, not quite liking that tone in his friend's voice. "I wouldn't want to ruin your date." He burst into laughter as Danny did a fairly good imitation of a fish with his mouth opening and closing in stunned silence.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Danny gave his friend a shove as a new blush crept onto his face.

Tucker coughed as his laughter died down. "Uh, dude, that was totally a date." Still grinning, he patted his friend on the shoulder. "I know you may be out of touch with the whole dating thing since you've been running around like a nut doing the Phantom thing. But when a guy does something crazy like that, taking you to some place that they know you'll love, and I'm guessing he asked about your interests to pick the perfect place to take you, that's totally a date. And I'm willing to bet, based on the fact that he literally took you into space and gave you the stars, that he _really_ , really likes you."

"You're so full of," Danny sneezed abruptly, "shit, Tucker." He wiped his nose clean again on his handkerchief, trying to ignore that sudden warm twisting feeling inside him.

"You better not give me whatever you have," Tucker said seriously as he frowned deeply at his friend in concern.

"It's probably just a cold bug. I mean, I _am_ wearing a stupid skirt in cold weather." Danny checked the time on his watch to see how much longer they had until the start of class. "And by the way," he turned to his friend and made a face, "the guy is old enough to be my dad. And I'm not exaggerating on that. He's literally as old as my dad. They were best of buds in college. Why would you even suggest something like it was a date?" But the suggestion of it being a date brought up a nervous, jittery feeling inside him. Could Vlad really have thought of it like that? He swallowed thickly as his fingers tangled in the long strands of his wig. Vlad wouldn't like someone like him. Vlad was supposed to still have feelings for his mother, not him.

"Yeah," Tucker said, rolling his eyes, "I think I know who Vlad Masters is. He's only the biggest name in technology. I'm well aware of how old he is. I still think it was a date."

"You're crazy." Danny shook his head as he stood. With a sigh, he tugged on the wig, adjusting it so it didn't look completely stupid on him.

"Danny, I meant it when I said nothing would change between us if you're gay." Tucker grabbed his book bag as he followed Danny out of the theater.

"I'm not calling you crazy because of anything that has to do with my sexuality," Danny argued. "Which by the way," he stopped to poke a finger into Tucker's chest, "I'm not even sure about since I haven't exactly been getting the warm fuzzy feelings for anyone lately. So maybe I am, but maybe I'm not. The thing is that Vlad is old. And he's smart, way smarter than me. And he's refined, and I'm so not. We're in two very different leagues."

"Whatever you say, man." Tucker chuckled as he patted Danny on the shoulder.

Danny scowled. "I'll see you at lunch." They waved their goodbyes before parting ways to head to class.

His morning classes passed at a snail's pace. His teachers gave him strange looks when he entered the classroom, but they made no comments about his attire. Danny wasn't the only male to come to school dressed in drag. He knew there was one man that throughout freshmen year had people guessing as to whether he was actually a boy or if he really was a girl. Second period was the least fun of his classes before lunch. Clark, one of Calvin's buddies, sat behind him and kept tugging at the wig or jabbing at him in the back of the neck with the tip of his pencil to get a rise out of the loser. Danny gritted his teeth to the point that his jaw ached to avoid turning around and snapping at the obnoxious jock.

He sighed out in relief as he joined his friends at lunch. His sandwich was halfway to his mouth when Danny realized the oddity. His blue eyes glanced around, noting Paulina joining Sam and Valerie on the other side of the table. The women were getting along fairly well, which was very surprising for Danny. They were actually discussing fashion, and despite the complete clash between Paulina's love of pink and Sam's Goth style, they weren't getting into shouting matches. Paulina even showed Sam a dress that the Goth called "cute" despite it having some soft pink lace accenting the black dress.

Kwan sat on the other side of Tucker, and Danny was happy to see the two were discussing tech stuff. Paulina's break away from the A list norm apparently gave Kwan the courage to be more open about his true self by letting his techno geek side show. His gaze slid to his other side where Danny found Dash digging into his own lunch. It was still a strange thing to find himself sitting among the most popular students in the school after finally having given up the chase of getting in with the A list. He almost laughed at the irony. Half smiling, Danny bit into his sandwich, simply happy that their weird gathering was getting along.

"You want this?" Dash asked, holding out a chocolate pudding toward him.

Danny nearly choked on his mouthful when he glanced at Dash. The jock wasn't looking at him, but there was a slight coloring upon his cheeks. With a sinking feeling, Danny remembered Paulina's comments about the jock liking him. He glanced around at the table as he swallowed his food, but the other occupants were busily talking with each other and not paying any notice to them. Chewing on his lip, he turned back Dash.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Danny asked quietly, hoping not to draw the attention of any of their friends.

Dash blinked a few times then nodded. "Yeah, sure." He got up, grabbing his things.

Danny copied him, noting the eyes that landed on them before the two of them walked away from the table. After clearing of their trays and putting them on top of the trash can, they left the cafeteria. Their stroll through the school was tense, and Danny hugged his arms around his body, trying to discreetly wipe sweaty palms on his white turtleneck. They came to a section of the halls where no other students were milling about, and Danny decided that was a good enough spot to talk.

"Uh, so what did you want to say?" Dash couldn't seem to look at him for longer than a few seconds as he leaned against the lockers.

"Um," Danny started then paused to swallow. He rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck as he tried to decided how to even start this conversation. "Things have been pretty good between us this year." That sounded way stupider out loud than in his head, and Danny winced at his words. "And I've really liked that I've gotten to know a different side of you other than the bully that likes to kick my ass every week."

Frowning, Dash squinted at him. "Are you trying to give me the 'it's not you, it's me' deal or something?" He, at least, didn't look furious when he asked it.

"Um, maybe?" Danny cringed, shifting his weight. "Look. I've noticed, you know-" He sighed, trying to think of a way to say all of this without telling Dash that Paulina spilled the beans about his feelings. "The looks, the blushing, the nervousness. Well, I-"

"You're not gay," Dash said bluntly, looking more disappointed than surprised. "Kwan and Paulina have been encouraging me this whole year to just go for it with you." He sighed and shook his head. "Should have known I'd fall for the straight guy."

The hurt expression on the jock's face made Danny feel guilty about what he would have to say. "I'm not actually sure about that. Not really." His brow knitted. "I haven't exactly given it a whole lot of thought."

"Then why are you doing the whole rejection thing?" Dash's jaw clenched, like he was restraining his natural instinct to pound on something while mad. "You're not even going to give me a chance?"

"Because you _are_ a great guy, Dash." Danny added in a smaller voice, "When you're not being a jerk." He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "But you deserve someone better. You deserve someone that's not going to be half assed about the relationship." And someone that could be fully honest with him. Danny frowned, dropping his gaze as he thought about all the lies he would have to tell anyone that he got in a relationship with because of his powers.

Except Vlad.

And why did Vlad keep popping up into his head today?

When a hand suddenly touched his cheek, Danny nearly jerked away from it. He lifted his head, and Dash's face was way too close. "Uh, Dash, you shouldn't-" His eyes darted left and right, suddenly very worried about other students coming down the hall to see them like this.

Dash held the back of Danny's head as he leaned in close. Danny gasped as their lips touched, his heart practically jumping into his throat. His brain went into shut down mode, grinding to a halt in his shock at the fact that Dash was actually kissing him. He stumbled forward a step as Dash snaked an arm around his waist, drawing their bodies against each other. This wasn't in any way how Danny expected this talk to go with the jock. And crap, maybe he _was_ gay because he was starting to feel a bit weak in the knees. When Dash finally broke it, Danny stared at him in a daze, not fully realizing that the kiss had ended.

"You kissed back." A smirk spread onto the jock's smug face.

Heat spread across his cheeks as Danny swallowed and tried to regain some sort of thought process going in his head again. "It's the skirt, isn't it?" he demanded dryly as he glared at Dash. "You only kissed me because I'm wearing a skirt."

Dash rolled his eyes. "You're sexier in your regular clothes." He grinned, still holding the other man flush against his body.

Danny sighed tiredly. "Dash, I really don't think it would work out between us."

"At least give it a chance before you shoot it down." Dash frowned, his thumb rubbing over the smooth flesh just behind Danny's ear. "You seemed to enjoy the kiss."

"Maybe you're just that good at kissing." Danny managed to untangle himself from Dash's arms because being held like that was distracting him thinking. "And if we're just basing it on something physical, then that's no good. We both deserve something more than that."

"And we _can_ have that," Dash insisted, his brow pinching and his mouth pulling downward. "Why are you so resistant to even trying?"

"Because I can't-" Danny snapped his mouth shut quickly as he looked away. He realized with a jolt that a small part him rejected it because of Vlad's words. Rubbing at his eyes, he realized Vlad had circled through his mind all day, and he wasn't sure if that was all because of Tucker's comment or not. Maybe a little. The whole "date" thing wouldn't leave him alone. When he looked back at Dash, Danny sighed and placed his hands on the jock's broad shoulders. "I _know_ there's an amazing guy for you if you just open your eyes to someone other than me. I'm not-" That tickling feeling returned, and Danny drew away quickly so that he wouldn't sneeze right into Dash's face.

"Are you sick?"

"I'm hoping I'm not." Danny dug out his handkerchief again to blow his nose. All day long, he kept sneezing, and he noticed some tiredness. But he was attributing that to another late night finishing up homework. It wasn't as late as other nights, but he still didn't get to bed until around two in the morning. "It's probably just because of wearing a skirt."

"You know, you could have worn pants under it." Dash smirked when Danny stared at him, partially in shock that the jock even suggested that. "The bet was to wear a skirt or dress. Paulina never said you couldn't wear pants too."

"Next time, tell me that sooner!" Danny groaned, wishing he had thought of it before leaving the house that morning.


	43. Chapter 43

Kwan watched the other two men in his group during their theater class. He, and everyone else at the table, didn't miss when the two of them suddenly got up and left the cafeteria. No one tried to stop them since they clearly wanted to talk to each other alone, and Kwan already had an idea about what that conversation was. Paulina, and even Valerie, seemed to share his thinking when they watched Dash and Fenton disappear through the doors. Foley and Manson, on the other hand, were clueless, sharing worried looks about what the jock might do to their friend. An amused grin tugged at his mouth, wondering what the two of them would think if they knew how Dash felt about Fenton.

Kwan turned his gaze away as he frowned. He really did try to be happy for his friend and encouraging for Dash to go for it with Fenton. But it wasn't always easy on him. He liked Dash. In a way more than a normal friend should like his best friend kind of way. It hurt watching Dash give Fenton that lovesick look when he thought no one paying enough attention to notice it. He wished Dash would look at _him_ like that, but he knew the chances of that were slim. Dash only saw him as a friend, and that was most likely to be all Dash ever saw in him. 

They were still rehearsing their play, which they would have to perform at grade schools during their last two days of school before the winter break. Their lines were pretty easy to remember, though they could get away with a little adlibbing if necessary. They were mostly working on where to stand and actions while they said their lines. His aqua green eyes slid back toward the other two men. Kwan frowned at the awkwardness between them, a weird tension that seemed to pass between Dash and Fenton whenever they came too close to each other.

When the bell rang, Kwan hurriedly grabbed his book bag and followed his friend out the door. After they walked some distance away from the class, he placed a hand on Dash's shoulder and directed him toward the nearest bathroom. A freshman with thick glasses and freckles upon his face was in there, but after seeing the two senior jocks, he hurriedly made his exit. Once he left, they were alone in the bathroom.

"Before you even think about denying anything," Kwan started as he leaned against the door, folding his arms, "I know you pretty well, Dash. So I can tell when you're lying and when you're hiding something." He let a sly grin slip onto his face despite the agony inside him over what he was about to ask. "Finally made your move on Fenton, huh?"

The blush that spread onto Dash's face as he turned his head away was really all the answer Kwan needed to confirm what he already suspected. "Well, I mean, he wanted to talk to me," Dash explained, rubbing at the back of his neck. When he turned back to his friend, there was a frown on his face that confused Kwan. "I kissed him."

"That's great, man!" The smile was hard to keep plastered onto his face. Kwan thought for sure his heart was breaking into a million pieces at that announcement. He always knew it would happen, but he didn't expect how much it would hurt him to see his friend finally hooking up with his crush. Sometimes he really wanted to simply grab Dash by the face and yell at his friend to look at him instead. But he was merely the supportive best friend to the leading man, and like in any play, the background characters rarely ended up with a main character.

"Actually," Dash sighed, raking a hand through his blond locks, "it was probably really stupid."

"How?" Kwan blinked, stunned by that response. "It should be a good thing. I mean, you finally made your move. Did you ask him out? When's your first date?" Why was he asking all of this? His brain was screaming at him to shut up already. He really didn't want to know the details about Dash kissing Fenton. But he was the best friend, and friends stood by and listened to their friends' problems, even if meant slowly dying on the inside.

Dash didn't smile like Kwan expected. He didn't start rattling off all the details about the kiss and Fenton confessing that he was madly in love with the jock too. Instead the blond man frowned, a miserable look passing through his dark blue eyes. "He pretty much doesn't even want to give it a try. He kept saying I deserve better than him."

"Were you being serious?" Kwan lifted one eyebrow with a skeptical look in his eyes. "If he thought you were joking around, he could have rejected you because he didn't want you pulling some kind of cruel trick on him."

"Of course I was being serious!" Dash snapped with a dark glower.

"Hey!" Kwan unfolded his arms and held them up in surrender. "I'm just trying to look at this from his point of view. You haven't exactly been the nicest guy to him the past three years." And he wondered what Dash would think if he knew how he treated his hero that whole time, but he held his tongue on that point. "I wouldn't be surprised if he thought you were just fooling around. You were quite the flirt in the past, hitting on tons of girls. Plus you're pretty much the king of the school, and a bunch of girls wish you would date them. Maybe he thought you just wanted to toy with him, make out in some dark corner like he's your dark little secret you don't want anyone to know about, and when you get bored of him, you'd just toss him aside and move onto someone new."

"Okay. First of all, I kissed him right in the middle of the hall where pretty much anyone could have seen us," Dash argued angrily as he pointed a finger at his friend.

"Yeah." Kwan rolled his eyes. "While he was wearing a skirt and a wig and could have been mistaken for a girl."

"I'll admit it probably looks bad that I kissed him while he was dressed like that." Dash winced. "But _he_ was the one that called _me_ out to tell me it wouldn't work between us."

"While I'd really like to tell you to go for it," Kwan said, closing his eyes because somehow that made it easier to say things, "it might be better not to push things too forcefully. If he's resistant right now, being aggressive could turn him way off. You might," he shrugged, "just want to try going at it slowly. Talk to him a bit. Show some interest in things he likes. Maybe if you treat him like a friend first, he'll warm up to you."

"Yeah, maybe." Dash looked doubtful about that. "I guess it's worth a try." He groaned as he nudged his friend to move aside. "And we should really head to class now."

Kwan sighed as he followed his friend out of the bathroom. He really didn't feel like heading to class, especially after hearing that Dash kissed Fenton. If he could, he would run off to find someplace where he could be alone and try to forget all about it, but he couldn't because he still had two more classes to suffer through before the day ended.

After waving goodbye, he parted ways with Dash and headed off to his class. He sneaked into his next class only a minute or two late, and thankfully, the teacher only gave him a brief glance before returning to the lesson. With a sigh, Kwan pulled out his PDA from his pocket and held it below the desk so that his teacher wouldn't notice it. He pulled up the data on Phantom. His mind still boggled over the fact that Phantom was actually Fenton. It shocked him to learn that from Foley.

But the news made him frown severely. His hands tightened around the PDA as he thought about his brother's presence in the school. Fenton was in great danger with Jing around and alert for any virus activity. If Fenton wasn't careful, Jing might manage to get his hands on him. Kwan ground his teeth. He knew one way that he could keep Fenton safe, but that meant actually sticking to his brother like glue to trip him up whenever Jing ran off to chase after viruses. He really hated the idea of having to do that since being around his brother was infuriating.

The final bell of the day rang, and Kwan filed out of his last class with the rest of the students. The hall was fairly crowded with the throng moving sluggishly as students headed toward their lockers or after school clubs or to the exits of the school. Kwan was almost to his locker when Foley caught up to him. They had a pretty nice chat during lunch, discussing various things about tech, and he was surprised that things were going well with their whole break away from the A list norm.

"Hey, can we talk?" Foley asked awkwardly, his green eyes glancing around nervously.

Kwan nodded, realizing exactly about what Foley wanted to talk. At lunch, they couldn't really get into talking about Phantom with the whole cafeteria around to overhear them and their friends sitting right at the table with them. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he followed Tucker through the halls. They left the school and found an empty bench far removed from where the rest of the students were. As long as they talked in hushed tones, they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard.

"I just wanted to compare things with you," Foley said as he sat dropped onto the bench. His PDA appeared almost magically in his hand, but since the techno geek always seemed to be playing with it or something like it, he could have held it the entire time without the jock really noticing it.

Kwan followed, taking out his own PDA and pulling up the information on Phantom. "I had it scanning him all during lunch and our theater class," he explained as he held out his PDA for the other man to see. "It's hard to get a good reading on him though while he's human. If he was walking around as Phantom, I could get a better scan of him."

"Yeah, I know." Tucker sighed tiredly and held his PDA next to the other one so that they could do a side by side comparison of the data.

As Kwan discovered after glancing over the data in class, Fenton only leaked a small amount of his Phantom signature while he was human. It didn't provide a whole lot to go on, but with the coding he still had from the football game, they at least had a strong source to compare things. Both of them frowned, leaning in close as they scanned through the information on both PDAs.

"There's," Foley squinted at the screens, "something weird right there." He pointed at part of the coding on Kwan's PDA, and sure enough, a small blip in the data showed differently from the rest of it.

"It could just be a fluke," Kwan said, though he felt some doubt about that.

"Kwan, if I know anything, it's that we shouldn't ignore something as 'just a fluke.' Ignoring a small thing could be disastrous." Foley's frown didn't simply show worry for his friend. It read as terror. "It's like that weakest link or something phrase. What is it? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link? This," he pointed a little too dramatically, "could be his weak link. This could be something that actually kills him. I'd rather make a big deal over nothing than ignore something that I'll regret later."

Kwan swallowed. "Point taken. But," he frowned at the other man, "I feel like you're not telling me something."

Foley dropped his gaze to the PDA in his hands. Misery and guilt melding in his eyes. "I may have done something really bad to Danny over the weekend. And I'm terrified that if something bad happens to him, that it'll be all my fault."

"And what did you do?" Kwan narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Um." Foley turned his head as he scratched at his cheek. "I may have accidentally shot him with one of his parents' inventions." He snapped his head around, hands waving in front of him. "But I didn't mean to! All I did was pick it up, and the thing went off. I didn't even really touch the trigger." He hung his head, dropping his face into his hands. "I'm such a bad friend."

Kwan patted the other man on the shoulder. He sometimes felt like a bad friend for harboring feelings toward Dash. It would be a lot easier on himself if he could simply forget about them and find someone else. "But you're trying to do right by it," he pointed out, though if he was in Fenton's shoes, he would probably want to punch Foley for shooting him with something potentially dangerous to him. "A bad friend would actually shrug that thing off and not care about the consequences. But you're not like that. You're checking on him to make sure nothing bad is happening to him. That's what a good friend does. He doesn't run away after making a mistake. He tries his best to make up for it."

"I know you're trying to cheer me up," Foley said, still talking into his hands, "and that's still kind of weird since you're a jock and you're not supposed to care about cheering up a loser. But I still feel horrible."

His mouth pulled downward as Kwan lowered his eyes. He knew a lot about feeling horrible with the tangled mess of emotions twisting around inside him. Not sure what else to say to help the man, he advised, "Next time, keep away from the weapons."


	44. Chapter 44

Maybe Kwan was right with his advice, as he usually was. Maybe kissing Fenton like that was too aggressive a move while Fenton was trying to let him down gently. Dash scratched a hand through his blond hair, staring impatiently at the clock for the time to wind down to the final bell so that he could get out of class. Fenton _did_ kiss him back though. Of that much he was sure. Dash sucked in his lower lip, biting on it as he recalled the kiss he shared with the other man. It was an impulsive move. Kwan always warned him that he acted without thinking too often, but Dash thought maybe, if he could just get Fenton to see how much he liked him somehow, then perhaps Fenton would stop trying to push him away and give him a chance.

When the bell rang at last, Dash scooped up his books and bolted for the door with the rest of the class. Maybe he was trying too hard with Fenton. Dash frowned as he walked down the hall with his head bowed. It was a lot easier impressing a woman into dating him than a guy. But he didn't exactly have a lot of experience with the whole dating another guy thing. He only came to realize his interest in men before school started, and Fenton was the first man to really attract his attention. Kwan joked that Dash secretly liked Fenton the whole time but was in denial and that was the reason he kept picking on the man. Maybe there was some truth to that. Dash wasn't completely convinced about it though.

His phone buzzed, and Dash reached into his back pocket to retrieve it. He stared at the message from his mother asking if he could pick up his sister. His father would still be at work, and she had an appointment that she had to get to that couldn't be delayed again. Dash quickly sent back a message letting her know that he would pick up Lily. After shoving his phone back into his pocket, he headed to his locker. Kwan was strangely absent, but Paulina was loitering around chatting with Valerie, who looked a lot happier now that she was able to talk with the other woman again.

"Hey," Dash said as he grabbed a few books from his locker. "I got something to do. Think you can give Kwan the heads up?"

"Sure thing," Paulina answered with a bob of her head. He never had to explain things with Paulina and Kwan because they knew about Lily. As soon as he said he had "something to do," they knew exactly what he meant.

"See you later, Val." Dash waved to them as he departed, heading for the parking lot.

His walk slowed when he spotted the other jock sitting on the hood of his cherry red sports car. If Calvin Williams left any sort of mark on his car, Dash was going to pound the man into the pavement. Deciding the best approach to dealing with the other jock was simply to ignore him, Dash continued on the way to his car like usual, unlocking the driver's side door to climb in. Williams, apparently, had other plans, slamming the door shut nearly on Dash if he hadn't jumped back in time to avoid it.

"What the hell, Williams?" Dash shouted, hands curling into fists. The other jock was lucky they were still on school grounds or Dash would have decked him for that move.

"Did you really think no one would find out?" Williams wore that irritating smirk that usually crept onto his face whenever he thought he had some particularly juicy dirt on someone to spread around the school and cause maximum humiliation.

Dash narrowed his eyes at that expression, wary of exactly what the other jock wanted. "Find out what?" His brow knitted as he pressed his mouth in a tight line. He didn't have the time to waste playing head games with Williams.

The jock snorted as he pulled out a phone from the pocket of his letterman jacket. "It's pointless to act like you don't know," Williams said, sneering at Dash, who genuinely didn't know about what this confrontation was. "You were caught in the act." He held out the phone for Dash to see the screen that displayed a picture of the kiss he shared with Fenton during lunch. Dash blanched as he turned his blue eyes back onto the other jock, wondering what Williams planned to do with that picture. "It makes a nice background, don't you think?" Williams smirked, turning his phone back around to stare at the picture. "Maybe I'll blow it up and posted a few copies all over the halls for everyone in school to see." A cruelness entered his eyes. "Who would have guessed the great Dash Baxter, star of the football team, king of the school, was gay for the stupid loser Fentonweenie?"

Dash resisted the urge to roll his eyes. That was Williams' big plan to humiliate him? It hardly seemed like a well thought out scheme to create humiliation on a massive scale. "You say that," Dash snatched the phone from the other jock's hand, "like I'm going to run off crying." He snorted, tossing the phone in the air and catching it neatly while Williams frowned at him. "Did you think you'd just come up to me, show me this picture, and somehow make me bow down like your slave to prevent you from spreading it around the school?"

Dash tossed the phone into the air again, but this time he didn't even attempt to catch it. His eyes remained trained on the other jock, who realized a moment too late that his phone was plummeting to the hard asphalt of the parking lot. Williams dove for the phone, but he failed to catch it in time. The phone bounced off the asphalt with a clatter, the screen cracking on impact. Williams ground his teeth as he shot a glare at Dash, who crouched down in front of him.

"You want to tell the whole school I'm gay?" Dash asked slowly, using his most intimidating stare as he remained just high enough to give him the height advantage over Williams. "Go right ahead. I'm not scared of what everyone will say about me. Football season is over, so you can't run me off the team for my sexual preference. But you lay one hand on Fenton," his voice turned deadly as his eyes narrowed darkly, "and I will make you regret it."

Dash stood, leaving Williams to pick up his phone. When he opened the door of his car again, it came inches from smacking the other jock in the face. It was sorely tempting to hit Williams, but Dash didn't want to get in trouble, and there were plenty of witnesses around the parking lot. He pulled out of his spot, not missing the glower Williams sent him before he tore out of the parking lot.

Dash sighed as he drove to the hospital. Today simply didn't seem to be going well for him. He had high hopes when Fenton asked to talk to him in private. His heart pounded nervously in his chest when they walked through the halls together. Sadly, he had thought many times about Fenton rejecting him, mostly the other man telling him that he was straight or that he was in a relationship with Manson. Most people in school thought the two were a couple anyway. That, however, didn't stop him from dreaming of Fenton actually returning his feelings for him. It still puzzled him that Fenton rejected him so adamantly when he clearly felt something during their kiss. Dash understood wanting something beyond just physical attraction, he wanted that too, but he didn't get why Fenton wouldn't give them the chance to have that deep relationship beyond something that was just a physical thing. He frowned as he thought about Fenton's words. Why did Fenton keep saying that Dash deserved better than him?

After parking in the garage at the hospital, Dash headed into the building. A large part of his life involved getting dragged to the hospital whenever his sister had to go in for treatment, so he knew the place almost like the back of his hand. He headed up to the floor where Lily would be waiting for one of them to pick her up. His mood didn't improve when he reached the room and found his sister sitting on the bed with a twelve year old boy. Dash knew Jeremy from all his prior visits to the hospital. Jeremy was a pretty nice guy, but that didn't stop Dash from going into protective big brother mode.

"You two look awfully cozy," Dash said, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe as he gave Jeremy a look that made the boy gulp.

"Dash!" Lily whined with a blush on her cheeks, and Dash didn't miss that the two of them were holding hands. "We were only talking."

"I should probably head back to my room anyway," Jeremy mumbled as he stood. With an embarrassed look, he bowed his head and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I guess I'll talk with you later, Lily."

"I'll see you next time, Jeremy." Lily climbed off the bed. Then after a moment of debating, she leaned in toward the boy and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Both of their faces burned red after the brief kiss, and the tense moment was broken when Lily darted toward her brother and grabbed his arm as she raced out of the room.

Dash managed to give Jeremy the patented big brother death glare before he was yanked away from the door to the room. "You kissed him," he stated bluntly, turning to frown at his sister, whose face looked like it might be permanently stained that dark shade of red.

"I like him," Lily mumbled quietly, her hand squeezing around her brother's arm.

Dash could see it plain as day between the two of them. They liked each other and he wanted to be happy for his sister, but he also wanted to protected her from being hurt. "Just don't rush anything like your idiot brother." He looped an arm around her as they left the hospital together.

Lily tilted her head up and frowned at him. "What did you do now?" It was odd when she could look so wise at such a young age.

"Ah, you don't want to hear about your knuckle headed brother's big snafu." As they reach his car, Dash pulled his arm away from her to unlock the doors.

"Dash," Lily said sternly, giving him the usual look when she wasn't going to let him get away with something.

Dash groaned as they got into his car. Leaning back against the driver's seat, he stared up at the ceiling of the car and remained silent for a moment. "I kissed Fenton," he confessed, his mouth pulling into a frown. "But he rejected me."

"Good."

"Excuse me?" Dash snapped his head around to his sister. His brow creased in confusion as he stared at Lily.

"He's all wrong for you."

"You've never even met him!" Dash argued, flabbergasted by his sister's response. He expected Lily to call him an idiot for rushing into kissing the man. He didn't think she would be _happy_ that he was rejected.

"You really are an idiot." Lily shook her head as she sighed. "You're so blind, chasing after the wrong guy when the right one is right in front of you."

"What are you talking about, Lily?" Dash was completely baffled by her comment. "Kwan thinks I should keep trying. Just, you know, not stupidly grabbing Fenton and kissing him like that. He says I should try showing an interest in things he likes and, you know, getting him to warm up to me instead of being all aggressive."

Lily groaned, rolling her head away from him as one her blonde pigtails slipped forward past her shoulder. She wore one of the shirts that Paulina picked out for her with a lower neckline than Dash approved of, but whenever he argued with her about that type of clothing, Lily usually got pretty pissed off at him. He _tried_ not to start too many fights like that because he knew Paulina picked out things that would be cute but still offer some physical appeal to boys Lily's age but not in an inappropriate way. Dash was sad to say that he saw some girls around Lily's age that showed off way too much skin sometimes to impress boys.

"You two are so ridiculously stupid sometimes," Lily complained as she looked back to her brother.

"You're not making any sense, Tails." Dash reached over and prodded her in the forehead.

Lily pouted as she swatted at his hand. "You know I hate when you call me that." Her eyes narrowed at him. "And I'm talking about you and Kwan." She sighed dramatically in exasperation. "I can't believe how impossibly stupid you're both being about this. How can you be so blind to the fact that Kwan likes you?"

"I think you're confused, little sis." Where was that even coming from? Dash really couldn't figure out why Lily would think that Kwan liked him, in any way beyond as just friends. "If Kwan liked me, why does keep insisting I go for it with Fenton?"

"Because he's being an idiot," Lily said flatly. "Don't you get it? Kwan isn't fighting for you because you said you liked this Fenton guy, so he's stepping back so _you_ can be happy." She lowered her eyes with a miserable sadness. "Can you even imagine how that must be hurting him? Having to support you and give you advice while you chase after someone else, and all the while he probably wishes you would look at him instead."

"No, that can't be right." Dash shook his head, not believing his sister's words. "Why would you say something like that?"

"Because you're too thickheaded to notice it yourself." Lily stared dully at him, her mouth pressed in an unhappy line.

"Buckle your seatbelt," Dash instructed as he started the car. He didn't want to think on that topic anymore. Kwan liked him? He didn't want to know something like that! Now he had a guilty feeling settling inside him, twisting uncomfortably as he thought about all the times that he talked with Kwan about how he felt about Fenton. He never once noticed any sign that Kwan might be hurt during those conversations. But of course he wouldn't. Kwan was always good at masking his emotions. He could put on a dopey smile and act like he was a cheery man. Dash suddenly hated himself because he only thought about his own feelings without thinking of how that affected his best friend. As he drove them home, a question circled around his mind: Was that the reason Kwan always denied having someone he liked?


	45. Chapter 45

Why didn't he think about wearing pants under the skirt before leaving the house? Danny was still groaning over his stupidity there when he arrived home, nudging the front door shut behind him as he headed up the stairs to his room. Paulina made sure to give him the dress she wanted him to wear tomorrow before he left the room after their theater class. Danny sighed as he remembered the rosy colored spaghetti strapped dress with a frilly hem that Paulina showed him with a wide smile on her face. But as Dash pointed out to him, Danny only had to _wear_ the dress. Paulina never said he couldn't throw on a nice, oversized sweater over it. He _definitely_ wasn't walking around the school in something without sleeves when it was chilly.

When he reached his room, Danny dropped his book bag by his desk, already pulling off the wig to drop on his desk and drawing off the white turtleneck as he walked to his closet to find some normal clothes to wear. All day he was waiting for the moment when he could finally take off the darn skirt. He tossed the turtle neck into the laundry basket, and he had his hands on the waistband of the skirt when he heard a sound. At the cough, he froze, dread washing over him. Slowly he twisted around as he stared at the man leaning against the wall of his room.

"What are you doing in my room?" Danny gulped suddenly overly aware of how he must look to the man while he only wore a skirt with bike shorts under it. Then Tucker's voice decided to sneak back into his brain, making comments about the whole trip going up to space yesterday being a date, and Danny wished even more for the ground to swallow him up at that moment to save him any further embarrassment.

"I figured I would be safer hiding up here than risking running into your father again," Vlad answered dryly, remaining as he was with his arms folded. "My question is: why are you wearing a skirt?"

"You know, you shouldn't feel the need to avoid my dad," Danny said, trying but failing to stop the blush exploding onto his face. He inched back into his closet, nudging the door most of the way shut so that he could change out of the man's sight. Why did Vlad have to show up now of all times? The man couldn't possibly have picked a more humiliating moment for him. He scrambled to find a shirt, tugging on a long sleeved navy blue sweater as he sneezed.

"As I'm sure you're well aware," Vlad sounded tired, "once your father gets started, it's nearly impossible to stop his blathering. It's a bit much to take at once after so many years of isolation."

Danny rolled his blue eyes as he found clean boxers and jeans to put on after he changed out of the blue skirt and spandex bike shorts. "Okay." He sighed as he stepped out of the closet, tossing skirt and shorts into his laundry. "Dad can be a little much. I'll agree with you there. But it's only because he's so excited to have you back in his life. You _are_ his best friend after all. He missed you."

"I've," Vlad's face scrunched up like the words were stuck in his throat and he was having a difficult time saying them, "missed him too. But even in college, he took some getting used to." His dark blue eyes followed him as Danny took a seat on the foot of his bed, and the way Vlad watched him left Danny with that feeling of still being half dressed in a skirt. The flush returned to his cheeks as Danny turned his head away, drawing up one knee to hug to his chest like it could shield his body from being seen. "You still haven't answered my question. Why were you wearing a skirt? Are you in the habit of practicing cross dressing? Your father didn't mention anything about it yesterday when we were talking."

"Let's get one thing straight here," Danny said, laying a glare on the man. "I do _not_ enjoy dressing up that way. Jazz used to do it to me all the time when we were kids and she would force me to participate in her little tea parties with her stuffed animals. I was only wearing the skirt today because I lost a bet with someone, and the only reason I agreed to the bet was because Paulina is Valerie's friend and they both seemed really down about not being able to talk to each other at school because of the whole stupid social hierarchy that the school has with the A list not being able to have any sort of friendly interaction with the losers and it's pretty much my fault that Valerie became a loser in the first place so if putting on a skirt because I lost a bet helps somehow to break down that stupid hierarchy so that Valerie can have her friends back, then it's totally worth the humiliation." He drew in a deep breath after the long, rambling sentence. His glare lost none of the heat as he waited for some snide comment from the man.

"I see." Vlad's simple two word response made Danny blink in surprise. Danny expected more than that, but Vlad merely nodded like the explanation was a reasonable enough answer to his inquiry. "Perhaps having her friends back will help to improve Miss Gray's disposition, which may lead to her harboring less anger at Phantom, which might allow her to be more open to listening to you when you try to reason with her next time she shows up to fight you." He nodded like everything made complete and perfect sense to him. "This may have actually been a wise move on your part."

"I," Danny mumbled, still a little stunned that Vlad wasn't sneering at him with some cruel remark, "just wanted them to be able to talk again." He guessed he was still waiting for Vlad to slip back into the man that he first met despite their apologies and how well they were getting along now. He just couldn't help that nagging feeling that Vlad shake his head and make some comment about how stupid Danny was for doing something. He really hadn't thought much about the bet beyond helping Paulina and Valerie. He wasn't looking to devise some scheme to put him on a good standing with Valerie in some way.

"Yes, because you are generally a good natured person. And much like your father in that way." Vlad's mouth pulled into a small frown, and Danny could imagine his mind going straight back to the accident that landed the man with his digital powers. Danny did have to admit that while his father meant well, his clumsiness could often lead to unfortunate consequences, and that parallel made Danny wince. "But," Vlad continued, "that doesn't erase the fact that your decision in this matter could play well for you. Miss Gray's life may not be one hundred percent back to what she's used to, but her father has a stable job, and in time if things go well for him, he could be quickly promoted up the ranks to a better paying station. Perhaps not immediately back into the role of head of security, but definitely well above minimum wage. This little bet you made has now returned her friends to her, which no doubt raises her status out of the loser rank that she fell into. Some of what she's lost has been returned to her, which should help calm some of her anger."

Danny stared unblinkingly at the man, surprised that Vlad almost sounded proud of Danny's unintentional steps to somehow soften Valerie's anger toward his digital alter ego. It was still strange having Vlad treating him like he was someone of worth, like he was somehow almost on the same level as the man, instead staring down at him like he was an immature brat capable of only fouling things up. Shifting awkwardly, Danny drew up his other leg as he frowned, his mind turning back to yesterday and the comment of it being a date. Was it really a date? His eyes flicked toward Vlad curiously. Did Vlad mean for that to be a date? He chewed on his lip, holding back asking that question out loud. Didn't Vlad admit to having feelings for his mother? Why would Vlad suddenly start liking the _son_ of the woman he claimed to like?

And Vlad was old! His human appearance showed off his age, making him look the same age as Danny's parents. But when he was in the NetZone as a digital being he looked much younger. Why was he even thinking about this, Danny wondered as a blush crept onto his cheeks again? He blamed Tucker for calling the field trip to the satellite a date. His insides twisted uncomfortably, and he blamed Dash for kissing him. Now he was feeling all confused about everything. Wouldn't it simply be easier for him if he returned Dash's feelings? He _knew_ Dash liked him, thanks to Paulina. It would be so easy just to say yes to him than it was to sit here right now debating Vlad's intentions toward him. He still thought Tucker was crazy for suggesting it was a date. But he couldn't say yes to Dash. He didn't feel anything like romantic interest toward the jock, even if that was a really good kiss Dash gave him.

And then there was Kwan. Danny was only basing it on his own observations, but he was fairly certain Kwan liked Dash as more than just a friend. Danny had no plans to step in and take Dash away out of his own desire for an easy relationship. He really wanted to make Dash see that Kwan liked him, but that really wasn't his place to say anything about it. But he wished he could help Dash and Kwan be happy together.

With a start, Danny realized he fell silent for too long during his contemplation of his feelings. He really wasn't even sure what he was feeling, beyond that warmth that filled him when he got kissed by another man, which he should probably take as a big clue toward his sexuality. But it wasn't like he didn't find any women attractive after the kiss. So did that mean he was bisexual? He sighed as he let his legs drop to the floor. This wasn't the time to be thinking about his sexuality and whether he liked someone and especially not wondering if that was really a date or not. He had more important things to worry about, like figuring out what exactly that virus had planned.

"Did you manage to decode anything about that virus?" Danny asked as he stood, stretching his arms over his head until he suddenly let out a violent sneeze that actually hurt the back of his throat. With a groan, he padded over to his desk to grab a tissue and blew his nose.

"Are you feeling all right?" Vlad wore a severe expression as he watched the young man.

"Just a cold." Danny dumped the used tissue into the trash can next to his desk. "It is the cold season and all. Hopefully it'll just stay a head cold and I won't have to miss any days of school." At least they were close to their winter break. Then he wouldn't have to worry about being sick and having to make up anything that he missed by staying home.

Vlad didn't look quite convinced that it was simply a mere cold. "It seems the virus thought it could infect you," he explained while keeping his ever watchful gaze upon Danny, who shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I could have guessed that much." Danny frowned, having hoped for a bigger explanation than that. "But what was it supposed to do to me?"

Vlad pursed his mouth in clear dislike of what he discovered. "If you had failed to extract the virus coding, it would have slowly eaten away at your data until you've been completely corrupted."

The color drained from his face as Danny swallowed thickly. "So," he said slowly, fearfully, "does that mean it was trying to turn me into another virus?" The thought was more than slightly terrifying that a virus would come up with such a plan, even more scary when he thought about how it nearly succeeded if he hadn't learned how to remove the harmful coding.

"Everything suggests yes, that was the intended plan," Vlad agreed, not helping to lift any of Danny's worries. "But the virus should have no knowledge of the fact that you were able to remove that corrupted coding before it could do any harm to you." He wore a sneaky smirk, like he had a plan up his sleeve.

"Why is that a good thing?" Danny's brow creased as he tried to follow the man's train of thought, but he clearly didn't possess the same devious mind as Vlad.

"Because it means that the virus will believe it has succeeded, and that means it will enter its end game soon. When it does, you will be at the advantage because it won't know that are unaffected by the harmful coding." Vlad's smirk turned victorious in the belief that this guaranteed their success. "You will catch it off guard, and after the training I've given you, you should be able to cut down that virus quite easily."

All of this sounded like it should offer him some confidence in the upcoming fight against the mysterious virus. But Danny frowned as he listened to Vlad. Something about all of it was nagging at his mind. Folding his arms, he leaned back against his desk. There was something highly unusual about this virus. The obsession it showed for devising plots around him wasn't all that unusual since he dealt with Skulker's obsessively hunting him for the past three years.

"This isn't how a virus thinks," Danny mumbled as he continued thinking on it.

"What do you mean?" The question wasn't demanding or demeaning. Vlad sounded genuinely curious about the comment.

"I mean," Danny frowned at the man, still trying to puzzle it out in his head in a way that made sense, "viruses don't really think like this. They might grow and evolve, even programs do that, but they do it over a long period of time. This virus seemed to start evolving almost immediately after it escaped the Guys in White. And the way it's thinking of ways to attack me? Any other virus wouldn't dream of the idea of trying to actually _change_ me into another virus, or even using a human to distract me. This is almost like-" Danny jerked, standing up straight as he stared into Vlad's curious blue eyes. "It's thinking like a human! What if the Guys in White programmed the virus to learn and adapt like a human would? They made it think like a human because they thought that would be the best way to combat Phantom, but they didn't count on the fact that the virus might actually learn how to escape from them. And I bet they never would have expected it to want to corrupt Phantom and make me into another virus."

Vlad was silent for some time, digesting Danny's words as he stared at the man before him. "I'm somewhat impressed that you would think of an idea like that," he finally said.

Danny's mouth thinned as his jaw set tightly in frustration. Was it so hard for the man to admit out loud that maybe Danny was on the right track for once? That maybe Danny figured out the puzzle before Vlad could in this instance? Couldn't Vlad allow him just this one win? Danny knew he wouldn't have many opportunities to be the one with the answer, the one to make the connections first since Vlad was older, smarter, and more experienced than he was in almost every way. Was it so hard for Vlad to acknowledge him as maybe a little intelligent?

"Of course if your logic is correct," Vlad continued, not seeming to notice the frustration radiating off the raven haired man before him, "which sounds like it very much could be an accurate deduction, then the Guys in White are taking some very extreme, and dangerous, steps in their attempts to secure Phantom as their prisoner and test subject."

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel all that good about being right," Danny said dryly.

Vlad frowned. "You'll find that being right doesn't always mean being happy."


	46. Chapter 46

When Paulina sat down at their table at lunch on Friday, Sam didn't know what to think, except that her immediate reaction was to yell at the stupid A list woman to leave their table. She nearly snapped her plastic fork in half while resisting that urge to pick a fight as was usual when it came to her and the In crowd. Before Valerie dropped into the loser circle with them, Sam never would have considered being nice to the woman. But it wasn't like any of them treated her and her friends all that nicely over their years in high school either. Sam didn't like taking crap from the A list, and she wasn't the type to sit back while someone insulted her friends simply because they didn't fit into the In crowd's definition of "cool." But the three A lists didn't throw any insults and cruel words at them or try to antagonize a reaction out of them.

It almost felt like some trick they were playing on her and her friends. She expected them to suddenly do something to humiliate them, and she was surprised when nothing happened. Even more shocking was that she actually got along with Paulina. Despite the other woman's love of pink, Paulina's sense of fashion really wasn't all that bad. It just needed a little darkening to fit with Sam's Goth image. Maybe Sam had the wrong impression of the popular woman all these years. Their first encounter didn't get them off on the right foot, and they were both to blame for that, but maybe things could have been better between them if they gave each a chance sooner. Paulina, as she discovered when they were talking during lunch on Monday, was actually a fairly smart woman with an amazing talent for designing clothing. Sam didn't care for all the pink in the outfits that Paulina showed off that she made, with Danny's help apparently, for their theater class, but it fit in with the whole theme of the three men playing the parts of the pigs. When Paulina insisted on making something for her, Sam was a bit skeptical until she saw the design and found it to actually be kind of cute even with the pink on it.

Sam guessed it was true that a person shouldn't judge a book by its cover. She almost couldn't believe that she was looking forward to lunch and getting to talk books with Paulina. At the beginning of the year, she never would have imagined this turn of events. Tucker seemed to be getting along fairly well with Kwan. Sam caught some of their conversation yesterday as the two men talked tech. It blew her mind to learn that Kwan actually knew something about technology, and listening to the two of them talk was almost like trying to listen in on a conversation in another language. She decided that was a good thing since neither she nor Danny were really all that big on tech, and Kwan gave Tucker someone to geek out with over his tech toys. It also explained why Valerie and Paulina got so defensive whenever someone referred to Kwan as stupid. He didn't sound stupid at all when she heard him talking about tech stuff.

Her mind turned toward Danny and Dash. She frowned when she remembered the two men left the cafeteria together yesterday. She worried that Dash was going to hurt Danny somehow, though when she saw her friend after school, it didn't look like Dash had done anything to him. What did the two of them go off to do together? She couldn't stop wondering about it, and Danny wouldn't tell her anything about his chat with Dash when she asked about it.

"Listen up, Calvin."

Sam stopped in tracks when she heard Paulina's voice around the corner of the hall. She carefully peered around it to spy Paulina with a livid expression on her face as she jabbed a well manicured finger into his broad chest. What was going on here? She blinked in wonder at the two A lists.

"I still have that picture of you when you were five and wearing nothing but Disney princess underwear and your mother's red high heels and clip on earrings and _really_ badly done makeup," Paulina continued in a threatening tone that actually surprised Sam. "So if you even _think_ about using that picture of Dash and Danny to humiliate them, just remember I have even worse dirt on you."

Calvin actually paled at her words, and Sam could only imagine the picture Paulina had on him was highly embarrassing. Flipping her hair, Paulina left him with her threat still hanging over him. When she turned the corner, she nearly ran into Sam. Their eyes met, and for a moment, both were unable to speak.

"Any chance you didn't hear that?" Paulina winced, chewing on her lower lip.

"What picture does Calvin have on Dash and Danny?" Sam wondered curiously as she lifted an eyebrow at the woman. "And you have to let me see that picture of Calvin."

Paulina smirked slyly. "You should see all the dirt I have on some of the A list. Star, especially, would be crazy to try to do anything to piss me off." She shifted her weight, hugging her arms about her body in a way that would draw any man's eyes either to her hips or her chest. "Calvin, um," she frowned, her emerald eyes drifting away from Sam, "might have snapped a picture with his phone yesterday of Dash kissing Danny."

"What?" Sam shouted in shock. Numbness crept through her upon hearing those words. Her mind ceased functioning, unable to process the very idea of the two men sharing a kiss. It wasn't like she had anything against homosexuality. There were other men, and women, in the school that liked those of the same gender. But Dash and Danny? Neither man gave any sign or hint that they might have feelings for someone that was the same gender, let alone each other. "Why? Why - _Why_ would Dash kiss Danny?"

"Dash has it in his head that he likes Danny." Paulina sighed as she started walking down the hall, and Sam immediately hurried to follow after her. "But from the sounds of things, Danny isn't exactly interested in starting anything with Dash."

"Because Danny is straight?" Sam felt stunned at the very idea that Danny could be anything but straight. Maybe it was her own wishful thinking with some lingering feelings for her friend. She kind of always thought Danny might be there for her, like a backup, and she realized how selfish that sounded, like she didn't want Danny to be with anyone else in case she ended up not finding someone later on down the road when they were thirty or forty. But it was a thought that remained in the back of her head, as terrible as it was. "And when did Dash become gay?" Sam _really_ couldn't picture that since Dash always struck her as the homophobic type that would beat up anyone that even hinted at being gay. But maybe it was the same as with Paulina, and Sam needed to stop thinking about her initial impressions about the three A lists to see who they truly were.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Paulina said with an amused smile like she knew something that the other woman didn't. "It really wouldn't surprise me if Danny liked guys too. And Dash," she winced, "well, I probably shouldn't be spreading that around, but if he's going to be kissing a guy in the middle of the hall, I guess he's not all that concerned about keeping it a secret anymore. So he basically came to the realization before school started that he does feel attracted to guys. And after some prodding, we got him to admit he likes Danny."

"You don't look so happy about that." Sam lifted her eyebrows in surprise at the frown on Paulina' face.

"Well, it's complicated." Paulina sighed as she drew forward a lock of her ebony hair and started threading her fingers through it like a nervous habit. "Because Dash says he likes Danny, but Danny doesn't think they would work out. Then there's Kwan who likes Dash." She frowned as she glanced over at Sam. "I wish there was an easily solution to this. If Dash could just start liking Kwan, everything would be a lot easier. Then Dash and Kwan could be happy together and neither of them would be hurting watching the other chase after someone else. And Danny wouldn't be a factor since he's not even interested in either one of them."

A sly smirk slipped onto her face as Sam stared at the other woman. "Do we need to stage some sort of plot to get those two together?" She never really cared much about the jocks, only seeing them as stupid jerks, but they were kind of growing on her now that they weren't harassing her and her friends. Kwan seemed like a nice enough guy, and having a crush on his best friend who was chasing after someone else had to be horrible for him. She could relate to that, especially when she thought back to when she _really_ liked Danny and had to watch him drool over women like Paulina, who she thought was nothing but a pretty face with a cruel, shallow personality.

Paulina tilted her head as she pondered over the question. "Well, Kwan made me promise not to say or do anything, but," she smirked, "that doesn't mean I can't help you make a plan to get those two boneheads together."

"You know, I think we could have accomplished a lot if we put our heads together sooner." Sam thought she could really start to like this devious, sneaky side of Paulina she was coming to know. When the bell rang, both of them sighed. "I guess we'll have to hold our planning meeting later." Sam waved to Paulina before she hurried off down the hall to class.

When she reached the locker room, Sam wasn't surprised to find Valerie already there and changing into her gym clothes. She walked over to join the other woman since their lockers were near each other. Thankfully, ever since the incident that landed Sam with two weeks of detention, Star and her obnoxious friends had stopped with their nasty comments and plotting to humiliate Valerie during gym class. Sam smirked smugly at that point as she changed into her gym clothes and locked up her things in her assigned locker. She walked with Valerie to the gym door when Valerie suddenly stopped.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked worriedly as she turned back to the other woman.

"No, I mean," Valerie said, dropping her gaze with an awkward shift of her weight. "I just remembered something. That I need to do. You should go on ahead of me. I'll catch up in a moment."

"Are you sure?" Concern washed through Sam as she frowned. "Maybe I can help with whatever it is."

"No, I can handle it myself. You go on ahead." Valerie practically shooed her toward the gym door.

Sam stepped into the gym, but she didn't like this. It felt too much like Valerie was trying to hide something. Being perhaps a little too nosy for her own good, Sam hated when she thought someone was trying to keep something secret from her. The other students in the class were already over by Tetslaff, who hadn't seen her yet. Good. Sam nudged the door to the locker room open, cautiously glancing inside.

Valerie stood basically where she was when Sam left the locker room, but she wasn't looking at the door, which was a good thing or she might have caught sight of Sam. After she touched something on her watch, black and red suddenly sprung out, wrapping around her body in a skin tight suit with a helmet hiding her face.

Sam gaped at what she saw, almost stumbling forward and throwing open the door. Did she really just see that? What exactly was it that she saw? Why did Valerie have something like that? What was this "thing" Valerie had to do? Sam's mind spun with questions to which she couldn't figure out the answers.

"All right, Phantom," Valerie said, touching a hand to the side of her helmet. "Where are you now?" She rushed off, leaving the locker room through the other exit that opened into the hall instead of the gym.

Wait. Phantom? Sam jerked with a start when she heard Valerie mention Phantom. She stumbled back into the locker room, forgetting about class. Gym wasn't even that important anyway. She was athletic and fit enough already and only signed up for the class because she needed to fill the space and having one class that she could float through wouldn't hurt. The teachers didn't exactly go easy on them simply because it was their senior year, and with the amount of homework they had every night, Sam was glad for at least one class where she didn't have to think too hard to pass it.

After a quick stop to her locker to grab her things, Sam darted out of the locker room. If Valerie could track down Phantom, then this might be Sam's chance to finally meet with the rogue program and pass on a piece of tech that might be useful to him. And she was _definitely_ questioning Valerie about that suit thing later. Running down the hall, she didn't have search very hard to find where Valerie went. She reached the scene, rushing out the front doors of the school, and she ducked in time to avoid getting smacked in the head as a spider virus flew toward her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she swallowed.

Turning to the fight, she spotted Valerie and Phantom. The two occasionally exchanged blows, mostly Valerie throwing a stray attack at the program or trying to catch him in a strangle hold, but most of their attention was on the viruses. The black creatures with bright green light dancing over their bodies, skittered around and attacked them. Valerie had great aim, piercing through their bodies with a single shot. Phantom alternated between firing energy balls at the viruses and grabbing hold of them when they jumped at him. The spiders squealed in agony as green electricity sparked over them, and they dropped to the ground with thuds as they twitched.

Sam counted at least five of the viruses. They didn't look like they should be difficult to take out, but the viruses kept getting back up after being cut down. It was like watching some zombie movie where they just kept coming no matter how much the heroes chopped them apart. Sam scrambled to open her book bag, digging through its contents until her hand closed around the sleek metal item. Pulling it out, she turned the Thermos over in her hands, realizing that she really didn't know anything about how to actually use it. But if it worked like Danny's father said it should, it would be helpful in this situation, if only to contain the undying viruses.

The top of the Thermos, she discovered, was removal. Naturally. She gave the invention a dry look as she thought of how predictable it was for Danny's parents to design it exactly like the Thermos it was modeled after. There was a switch on the side of it. Sam directed the Thermos at one of the spider. Then she pressed the switch. The Thermos whined as it whirred to life, and a white beam shot from the opened end. The virus tried to get away, but as soon as the beam touched it, the virus was sucked inside the Thermos.

"Whoa!" Sam gasped, surprised that the invention actually worked.

"Sam?"

She glanced over to realize that both Valerie and Phantom were staring at her. Though she could only see the shock on Phantom's face, she suspected Valerie looked pretty surprised as well. Sam laughed weakly under their stares as she carefully aimed at another viruses. "Hi," she said, pressing the switch to suck up the spider.

Phantom looked like his eyes were trying to bulge right out of their sockets from his surprise at seeing the invention work. Then he quickly kicked one of the stunned viruses at his feet, and when it crossed paths with the beam, the spider disappeared into the Thermos. The remaining two viruses were easily cleaned up, leaving the front of the school free of any nasty bugs, and Sam slapped the cap back onto the Thermos with a grin.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Valerie demanded when she stepped up and grabbed hold of the other woman's arms. "You were supposed to head to class."

"And miss this?" Sam's violet eyes shone with her excitement, thrilled that she was able to do something to help Phantom. "Do you know how long I've been trying to meet Phantom?" She turned to look past Valerie and frowned when she realized the program vanished already. With a disappointed sigh, her shoulders slumped.

"Why is it that all of you keep trying to put him up on a pedestal like some perfect hero?" Valerie demanded, frustration and anger clear in her voice.

Sam frowned as she stared at the dark visor hiding Valerie's face. "What did he do to make you so angry with him, Valerie?"

"He," Valerie's voice was filled with conflict, "was involved in the reason my father lost his job."

"But surely he didn't mean for that to happen. Phantom's only ever tried to help people by protecting the town from virus attacks. If he was present at the time when your father lost his job, he must have been trying to stop a virus." Sam tried to see things from Valerie's perspective. She could understand anger during a situation that felt out of her control as the life she knew crumbled around her. But putting all the blame on Phantom and going so far as to attack him seemed like Valerie was misplacing her aggressions.

"I understand that," Valerie said, still sounding uncertain about the whole thing.

"And it's not like nothing good came out of it. I mean," Sam frowned, looking away, "we got the chance to become friends because of it. And now the whole social hierarchy is breaking down because Paulina's friendship with you was stronger than her desire to remain on the A list. So it's not like everything you lost is gone for good."

Valerie sighed, and after a moment, the suit vanished, leaving behind the woman in her gym clothes. "I get that, and I'm really happy to have Paulina back as my friend and having you as my friend too." She rubbed awkwardly at the back of her neck as she frowned. "But it was just so much easier to blame Phantom for everything."

"The whole time you were attacking him," Sam said, remembering what she witnessed from the pair fighting each other with the viruses, "he never struck back. He blocked and dodged your attacks, but he didn't try to hurt you. In fact, he even protected your blind spot a few times there. Phantom doesn't want to hurt humans. He just wants to stop the viruses."

Valerie frowned, her expression twisting into deep thought as she considered something. "He did risk himself to protect me," she agreed after a while. "I didn't realize the virus wasn't dead, and he pushed me away and got hurt in the process all to keep it from happening to me." She rubbed at one arm as she looked off to the side. "I guess I've just been casting him as a villain because it's easier to be angry at him for everything when I don't have anyone else to blame."

"Well, since you both want to stop the viruses, why don't you just work with him?" Sam eyed the watch around Valerie's wrist. "And you wouldn't happen to have another one of those, would you?" She grinned hopefully as she pointed at the watch.

"Honestly, I don't even know how I got it." Confusion played across her face as Valerie ran her fingers over the watch. "But you could still make an awesome partner with the way you sucked up those viruses. What is that anyway?" One eyebrow rose as she pointed at the item in question.

"The Fenton Thermos. I wasn't sure it would actually work, but I guess they do make pretty cool inventions sometimes." Sam grinned, happy that she snagged it from the laboratory. Danny probably wouldn't be happy when he found out she took it, even less happy when his _parents_ noticed it was missing.

"Well, since we can't seem to kill them, having something that can capture the viruses seems pretty handy." Valerie sighed, looking exhausted as she hunched her shoulders forward. "I guess we should head to class. Tetslaff is going to have as running laps until we pass out, I bet."

"Ugh," Sam groaned. "Maybe we should just play hooky."

"It's probably better if we don't."

Sam sighed tiredly. "Yeah, you're probably right." She shoved the Thermos back into her book bag as they headed back into the school and through the halls back to the gym.


	47. Chapter 47

His nose itched, that annoying tickle of a sneeze about to come but was refusing to allow him that simple satisfaction. Danny glowered as he neared his class. He had hoped that the cold from yesterday would clear up by morning, but it was lingering. Vlad decided to let Danny have a day off from training after Danny ended up have a rather bad sneezing fit while they talked. Danny rubbed at his head as he remembered that one, which left his brain feeling rattled like someone grabbed him and shook him violently for several minutes. He was kind of thankful for that consideration, but he knew he still had a lot of training that he needed to do.

As he reached the door to his class, Danny heard that now familiar growling of the security program Cujo. "Oh, you have to be kidding me," he muttered, lifting his arm to frown at the watch. "There's a virus attacking right now?"

Cujo gave a deep throated growl in response as the translucent screen popped up from his watch. It was the map that he used to locate virus outbreaks before Vlad sent Cujo to him as a little spy. Danny still hated that Vlad chose to spy on him after their first meeting, but he grew used to having the dog program around all the time. Cujo was quicker at pinpointing where a virus was attacking than his old method.

Danny sighed when he spotted the blinking marker that indicated a virus that popped out of the NetZone right outside the school. He was rather enjoying the fact that ever since the attack in the gym when the spider virus stabbed him in the chest with its legs there wasn't any other attacks to interrupt his life. But of course, another virus would have to come and attack the school just to ruin his day.

Turning away from his class, he hurried down the hall to the nearest bathroom, which thankfully was empty since everyone had headed off to their classes already. His transformation happened as usual with a the familiar surge of electricity running through him, but something felt a little off this time. He sneezed, and it felt like the electricity raced over him, leaving his body twitchy where the sparks touched. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, he saw nothing out of the ordinary beyond his white hair looking fluffier than usual.

"Okay. I'm going to ignore that weirdness," Danny mumbled, frowning over the strangeness of that whole experience. "Take care of the virus first. Then worry about that thing later."

With a nod, he rushed out of the bathroom, jogging through the halls to the front of the school. It was a short distance thankfully since his class was close to the front entrance. Throwing open the doors, he skidded to a halt when he spotted the giant spider virus looming over him. It reared up, wiggling two long and sharply pointed legs in his direction. Danny winced, recalling how much it hurt to be stabbed with those legs. Except this spider's legs were a lot thicker and would leave much larger holes through him if he didn't react fast enough to avoid having them pierce through him again. When the legs drove down toward him, Danny immediately dodged, jumping forward in a roll that landed him right under the virus.

"Let's hope this works." Danny summoned up his scythe like he did when he practiced with Vlad. It came to him easily, forming in his hands without much thought or concentration. Danny really appreciated Vlad's point about timing in a fight now. Without that long session of training to craft the weapon, it would have taken him a much longer time to summon the scythe, which would cost him as he knelt unprotected underneath the giant spider.

While the spider was still confused over missing its target, Danny swung his scythe, cleanly slicing through the underbelly with the glowing green blade. He swiped at it several times, hacking the virus quickly into pieces. The spider squealed and whined as the severed parts toppled to the ground with thuds. Danny jumped out of the way before a chunk of the spider could land on top of him and flatten him into the ground. He dispelled his scythe, placing his hands on his hips as he smiled down at his work. But the smug sense of victory fell flat fast as he remembered that he couldn't actually destroy the virus. He could chop it up as much as he liked, but the virus would still live to come back and fight again. His hands closed into tight fists as he ground his teeth. He needed a way to eliminate the threat that viruses posed.

When the doors suddenly opened, banging against the wall, Danny snapped his head around and tensed when he saw Valerie on the front steps of the school, already dressed in her black and red suit. _I can't catch a break, can I?_ he wondered with a tired internal sigh. Viruses were bad enough without having a vengeful hunter on his tail trying to kill him. Valerie fired a blast of pink at him, and Danny quickly erected a shield that blocked the attack.

"It's not safe here," Danny told her, noticing out of the corner of his eyes as the pieces that he chopped the virus into were wiggling about and reforming into smaller spiders.

"Not safe for viruses," Valerie agreed with a dangerous note to her voice.

Danny realized with a sense of dread that Valerie placed him in the virus category. "Those," he pointed at the spider viruses quickly righting themselves and looking ready to launch an attack, "are the threat you should focus on." He put up another shield as Valerie fired upon him. Talking, apparently, wasn't going to fix anything between them. _So much for the bet being a great step_ , he thought dryly, beginning to think Vlad's opinion on that point was entirely wrong.

A spider launched at him, and Danny managed to grab its bulbous body, keeping its deadly looking needle like legs away from piercing him in the chest again. Utilizing one of the skills Vlad taught him, he sent a surge of electricity through the spider, stunning it for the moment. When he glanced at Valerie, he saw her blasting one spider straight through its body. Unfortunately, even having a hole through it didn't stop the virus' movements for long.

Unless they figured out a way to permanently put down the viruses, this fight could go on forever. Danny ground his teeth in frustration at the endless battle. Shields went up to protect him whenever Valerie tried to fire at him instead of the spiders. They worked fairly well together, knocking back the viruses with them both blasting at the spiders. But whenever they got in range of each other, Valerie's attention strayed from the viruses and onto him. Danny made a mental note to thank Vlad later because their training in combat really came in handy at a time like this. Valerie hadn't lost any of her karate skills since the start of high school, and several times, she came pretty close to grabbing hold of him to toss him over her shoulder and slam his back into the ground or simply wrap her arms around his throat and strangle him. But he got pretty good at anticipating and dodging attacks when Vlad came at him, and he managed to twisted out of her grasp each time. It was almost like some strange version of a dance.

A beam of light flashed in the corner of his eyes, and Danny spun around, hearing the soft gasp of amazement and Valerie's surprised and questioning shout. His mouth gaped open, his eyes growing wider than he thought physically possible when he spotted Sam with his parents' Thermos in her hands.

"Hi," Sam offered weakly, but Danny's mind was focused on the invention. It had actually worked? Sam took aim, pointing the Thermos at another virus that was sucked up by the beam. Danny's mind felt blown at that moment because he didn't think the invention could actually contain viruses. He reacted almost on instinct, not thinking as he kicked a virus still stunned at his feet. The spider sailed in Sam's direction, and before it could figure out how to escape, the beam sucked it into the Thermos. Danny almost laughed out loud when he saw that, relief flooding him as it sank in that the Thermos gave them a way to capture the viruses and end an otherwise unending battle.

Green eyes glanced between the two women. Valerie wanted his head on a stick, and Sam was eager to meet Phantom. Danny decided not to hang around for either of those reasons, especially if Sam wanted to convince him to somehow let her team up with him. Danny disappeared through the nearest access point while the two women's attention was distracted from him. Dropping to the ground of the NetZone, he rubbed at his face as Cujo appeared, nudging his nose against Danny's side.

"I can't believe they actually got that thing to work." Danny laughed into his hands. "Oh, Cujo!" He picked up to the dog and grinned as Cujo licked his cheek. "This is great!" Until he realized a problem: how was he going to get the Thermos from Sam without having to meet her as Phantom? Danny groaned at that thought as he set Cujo down on the ground. He gave his body a look over as he stood, but he saw no signs of injury. "You know," he said, placing his hands on his hips as he stared down at Cujo, "if I had met your master earlier, it would have saved me a lot trouble stumbling through figuring out how to use my powers and fight against viruses."

Cujo barked happily, wagging his tail as his tongue hung from his open mouth. Danny smiled, his mouth stretching wide as he shook his head. Not too long ago, he wouldn't be able to imagine the thought of actually being happy that he met Vlad, but he was. He was learning a lot from Vlad, and when the man wasn't making snide remarks about him, Vlad could actually be fairly nice to him.

"There's something wrong with me when I keep thinking about a guy old enough to be my dad, isn't there?" Danny's smile fell into a frown. With a sigh, he decided not to focus too hard on that point. He still had to get back to class, though at this point, he was thinking he was better off skipping it. He groaned as he walked toward an access point that would exit out into one of the boy's bathroom. As much as he would _like_ to skip class, he knew he shouldn't.

Danny passed through the access point and gave the bathroom a check before transformed back into his human form. His head swam for a moment, and he reached up to hold his head in one hand. Now was not the time for him to be getting sick. Not when some super virus designed by the Guys in White was out there trying to corrupt him with an army of spider viruses. Frowning as he walked to the bathroom door, Danny thought maybe he should talk to Vlad about maybe tracking down this virus. He was sick of waiting around for it to finally make its move instead of working from the shadows.

He was reaching for the door when he stumbled back to avoid having it smack him in the face. Today was definitely not going to be his day, he realized, when he spotted a furious looking Calvin Williams. Danny wondered if there was any way he could hide in one of the stalls before he was noticed, but it was already too late when Calvin's rage filled eyes landed on him. Backing up several steps, Danny wondered what he could possibly have done to incite the jock's rage. In the past, it was mostly only Dash that harassed him.

"You," Calvin growled, following after the retreating loser.

"Whatever it is, I didn't do it," Danny said quickly because he was fairly certain he hadn't done anything to the jock. In fact, he rarely ever had reason to cross paths with Calvin unless the jock purposely sought him out.

Calvin threw a punch at him, and Danny quickly ducked, the fist passing just inches over his head. Why did he ever think it would matter if he did or didn't do anything to someone on the A list? Calvin was going to use him as a punching bag regardless of whatever angered him. Danny tried to skirt around the jock, but Calvin grabbed hold of his arm. With a strong yank, Calvin slammed him into the wall, banging Danny's head against the side of the paper towel dispenser mounted there. The blow stunned Danny, causing bursts of white to bloom before his eyes. The punch that came next was accompanied with a crack that nearly made Danny shout out in pain. He didn't get much of a chance as Calvin continued his assault. Warm moisture dripped from his nose, which hurt to breathe through, as he tried to defend against Calvin's attack, but the jock's wild rage filled movements were harder to predict than Valerie's smooth and well practiced karate moves.

"Get off me!" Danny shouted, arm covering his head to protect his face from any more punches. "I didn't do anything to you!"

"Didn't do anything?" Calvin sneered at him before his hands seized Danny by the throat. "You're the one that twisted the two most popular A lists into loser loving freaks." Danny clawed at the hands squeezing around his throat, trying to pry them away as it got harder to breathe. "You've ripped the whole social ladder to shreds with your sick cross dressing gayness."

"What is going on here?" Lancer's commanding voice sounded distant to Danny, who thought he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen any moment.

Then suddenly he could breathe again, and Danny gasped in generous amounts of air, pressing his back against the wall and trying to stay on his feet, which felt like they were turning to liquid under him. Lancer had Calvin by the ear, glaring darkly at the jock through narrowed green eyes.

"Can you walk, Fenton?" Lancer gave him a brief glance before his withering look returned to the wincing jock.

"Y-Yeah," Danny said, his voice hoarse, though he wasn't entirely sure that he could.

"Good. Then please go to the nurse's office," Lancer instructed. "I believe Williams is due for a meeting with the principal now." Opening the door, Lancer shoved the jock out of the bathroom.

When they were gone, Danny let out a shaky breath through his mouth. His head was aching, and there was a metallic taste in his mouth. He grabbed some paper towels and pressed the bundle to his nose, which was still dripping with blood. Then he exited the bathroom, wincing at the throbbing throughout his torso. It never occurred to him when he made the bet with Paulina how that would affect the rest of the school. He only thought about helping Paulina and Valerie. Walking toward the nurse's office, Danny thought maybe he should have followed through with the idea of skipping class after all.


	48. Chapter 48

Skulker drummed his fingers over the counter, boredom eating away at his mind like a million tiny bugs filling his head. A slow smirk spread upon the face of the virus sitting next to him at the bar. The virus with the transparent dome covering his head and displaying his brain for all to see, something that Skulker decided with time got more disgusting to stare at, watched his stupid little screens for what seemed like every hour of the day. Or what Skulker guessed to be every hour of the day. Time really didn't hold the same meaning to viruses that it did for users. There was nothing really known as "night" or "day" on the NetZone, and time only really became relevant when users programmed in time sensitive data into their programs, like scheduling important appointments on different days of the week.

Skulker heaved a breath, his eyes slipping half shut as they remained locked on the virus beside him. The virus was back in one of those quiet moments where he didn't want to be bothered while he focused on his data for what reasons Skulker could only guess at since the virus never cared to fill him in on _anything_. Twisting around on his seat, Skulker leaned back against the bar and rested his arms upon the countertop. Green eyes swept around the noisy gathering within The Vortex. Johnny stopped by for a visit, his announcement being sounded by the loud rumbling of his motorcycle when he arrived. The blond virus spent most of his time hanging out in a dark corner with his girlfriend Kitty. Johnny's arms snaked around the woman's waist, practically dragging her into his lap. Purple lips stretched over her face as Kitty leaned her head in toward him. She caught his mouth in a quick kiss then pulled back slightly, nipping gently at his lower lip.

Skulker sneered at the cozy couple. His attempts to woo Ember failed at every try. Now, every time he got near her, Ember's hand inched toward her guitar, a threatening gleam glowing in her green eyes when he opened his mouth to speak to her ever since the time they popped out of the NetZone to attack that human gathering known as a football game. He scratched his head over that little puzzle, not certain what he said that set her off in such a rage at him.

Skulker was almost tempted to actually ask Johnny for some advice on the topic, but the biker virus wasn't exactly the greatest to go to for romance advice. Johnny and Kitty had their share of ups and downs, mostly caused by Johnny's wandering eye as he checked out other female programs and viruses. Kitty didn't appreciate being ignored by her boyfriend like that, and their fights could become rather spectacular. There were still cracks in a hub section of the NetZone where many programs lived and met to converse with each other from one of their bigger fights.

Ember was, of course, pointedly ignoring him as she worked, refusing to come anywhere near the bar where he sat. She chatted with Spectra at one of the other tables while the corrupted program Bertrand sat grumpily beside her, his mouth with the bushy mustache covering the upper lip twisting downward as he was forced to listen to the girl talk between the two female viruses. There were moments when both Ember and Spectra would glance his way, and Skulker didn't miss the sneers they sent him before they returned to their talk. Skulker's mouth pressed in a tight line, realizing their conversation was likely about him, and from those sneers, he could guess that what was being said didn't paint him in the best of lights.

With a sour expression, Skulker turned back to the virus sitting next to him at the bar. "So," he started slowly, frowning when the virus didn't immediately give him his attention, "are we planning on making a real move sometime soon? Or are you content just toying with Phantom by sending those dinky little spiders after him?"

Red eyes turned away from the screens to stare at Skulker over the top of the black shaded glasses the virus wore. "Those dinky spiders were a lot more effective than any of your plans to simply blow stuff up until Phantom appeared for you to make a poor attempt at capturing him."

Nose flaring, Skulker narrowed his green eyes with an insulted feeling rising in him. "My plan at least would be fun," he grumbled, folding his arms as he leaned on the bar. "What fun is your plan? All you've done is sat back in the shadows while your toys go off to play with _my_ prey." He still hated working with this virus. The fact that he was basically forced to sit on the sidelines ever since that football game didn't help with his mood. He was a hunter by the nature encoded into his makeup. Sitting idly by as some other virus toyed with his prey made him rather irritated, and he resisted the urge to punch the other virus and show him that Skulker wasn't just some pathetic no name virus that could be used and tossed aside. He was the greatest hunter on the NetZone!

"Your prey?" The virus chuckled, his shoulders quaking with mirth, as he shook his head. "I believe the prey goes to the one that actually manages to capture it, and the victor in this case would be me." A smug smirk spread onto his face, and Skulker's hands closed painful around his biceps as he ground his teeth, resisting that growing urge that strongly said he should punch the other virus in that smug as hell face.

"How exactly are you the victor?" Skulker demanded as he leaned toward the virus, putting his face right in front of the other virus' face. His eyes narrowed, his mouth thinned, and a darkness filled every line etched onto his face in his most intimidating of glares, though it didn't seem to have any effect on the other virus. "All you've done is given a human the means to fight us. Good job on that one, by the way. And those little spiders of yours haven't done much of anything beyond giving Phantom the runaround. Where exactly is your victory?"

A chuckle bubbled out of the virus, and Skulker got the distinct impression that he was missing out on the joke. "They've been doing a lot more than simply playing with our prey." He moved one of the screens over for Skulker to take a look at the data displayed upon the translucent plate.

His mouth pulled downward as Skulker's eyes read over what he saw. His brow pinched in confusion at what showed on the screen. "Is that-"

"Phantom's unique coding? Why, yes it is." A smirk cut across the virus' face, and Skulker was really growing to hate that expression. "Thanks to that suit I so kindly passed onto the human, and for good reason, I've been able to monitor Phantom during their fights. His coding is," he paused, seeming to roll over his thoughts in his head, "unusual, to say the least. I've never seen coding like that before."

"I can't say I have either," Skulker mumbled, baffled by the strange sequence upon the screen in front of him. Who could ever think of writing up a program like this? Even the most sophisticated of programs and virus he saw on the NetZone weren't coded anywhere near the same level of intricate design as Phantom. But that fact only made him want Phantom as his trophy all the more. Something this unique would need a special place in his trophy room. Once he managed to capture Phantom, of course. For that, he would have to do something about this virus. He lifted his eyes to stare at the amusement on the other virus' face. Skulker doubted the virus would give up his plans involving Phantom without a fight.

"And that's why I needed time to create a virus that would be able to latch onto Phantom." The virus closed out every one of his screens, for the first time in a long while since they met. His certainty over his victory in this matter appeared clearly in the triumphant expression upon his face. "And it seems my plans have bore fruit. The corruption has already begun. It won't be long now before he's one of us. Just another virus causing wreckage to the peace of the NetZone."

"I don't accept that as your victory." Skulker stood, his height allowing him to loom over the other virus. He didn't care for this whole changing Phantom plan that the virus had in the works. The Phantom that he first encountered was the Phantom that Skulker wanted to capture. _That_ Phantom was his prey. Not some changed virus version of him. "I'll capture Phantom before your stupid little plan can succeed."

A rumbling laugh rose from the virus as he stood up on his spiny legs, putting his height several inches over Skulker. "You say that like you think I haven't succeeded already." A dangerous look flashed across his face, but Skulker glowered, refusing to look afraid in the face of the other virus. The noise in The Vortex quieted as everyone turned their attention to the pair, curious to know what was happening between them. "My virus has already taken root inside Phantom. He's already changing at this very moment. There's nothing you can do to stop what's already started. And why would you want to stop it? Once Phantom is a virus, he won't be in the way of the rest of us. We'll all be free to do what we were created for without interference." Something in his voice hinted at some other motive for the virus' plan, a strange note that set him on edge, but Skulker couldn't guess at what else the virus had up his sleeve.

"I agreed to help you only because I thought it would help me get closer to my goal of capturing Phantom. We clearly have very different objectives." Skulker's fists closed, knuckles aching with the desire to throw a punch at the nuisance in front of him. All the sitting around and being given scraps of information about the virus' plan built up, frustration piling upon frustration to the point of snapping. "I guess this is where we part ways."

"Unfortunate." Sincerity almost sneaked into his voice, the shades once again hiding his eyes. "You could have made an excellent servant."

His eye twitched as the term circulated through his head like that broken record analogy that users sometimes said. A laughable thought really, but the comment fueled his veins, or what passed for veins in a digital being, with a raging fire. "I am no servant!" Skulker jabbed a finger into the virus' chest with each pointed word.

No amusement showed in the virus' face as he bowed his head to stare at the finger still digging into his chest. "You're not a very good hunter either."

Those words ignited his anger, green eyes blazing at the insult. Skulker drew back a fist in preparation for a punch. His knuckles ached from how tightly his hand was clenched. His fist drove forward, aiming straight for the face the he wanted so badly to punch for quite some time now. Cold metal wrapped around his midsection, jerking him backward with a hard yank that pulled him to the ground. His back slammed into the floor with a jarring force. He grunted, staring in a daze at the ceiling.

_Clink, clink, clink_.

The sounds of the spiny legs tapping over the hard surface of the floor neared him, and in less than a moment, the virus appeared over him. Skulker assumed the virus was staring down at him, not able to actually see his eyes behind the sunglasses. One needle sharp leg pressed its tip against Skulker's throat.

"You'd be a fool to try getting in my way." The virus dug his leg just a bit more into Skulker's throat, scraping at the metal flesh there. "I _will_ finish what I've set out to accomplish." He pulled his leg away from the hunter's throat. When he walked toward the exit of The Vortex, all viruses moved out of his way. Several moments of silence passed after he left before the murmuring started, a dull background noise in Skulker's pounding head.

"That was smooth." Ember appeared over him with her hands on her hips. A bland look entered her half lidded eyes as she frowned.

"That went exactly as I planned." Skulker groaned as he forced his body up into a sitting position. The scrambled sensation in his brain made the room spin for a brief moment. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hand.

"Sure you did. And you pulled it off spectacularly." Ember rolled her green eyes. "And what exactly was that all about?"

"Our friend there," Skulker sneered at the term because they were hardly friends, "plans to make Phantom a virus."

One delicate eyebrow lifted at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, and I have a bad feeling about it."


	49. Chapter 49

Dull aqua green eyes stared at the blackboard as the teacher wrote out notes during her lecture. The stout woman stretched her arm as high as it would reach and still could only write her notes about three fourths of the way up the board. The rest of the class was in various states of boredom. Some were already passed out with their heads on their desk. The red headed man sitting next to him was snoring softly as he drooled on his desk. Other students were staring out the window or at the clock or leaning back into their chairs to stare at the ceiling. Only a few students sat up straight, alert and taking notes on the lecture.

Kwan glanced down at his notebook and realized that he hadn't paid attention to whatever the woman was saying for the past few minutes. His eyes slipped shut, the teacher's droning voice lulling him toward sleep like the majority of the class. His mind started drifting to the oblivion of sleep until something buzzed against his hip. Jerking upright in his seat, he pulled out his PDA from his pocket. His eyes darted quickly to rotund woman whose waist had a habit of rubbing away the notes she wrote on the board for them. Her focus was only on giving her lecture, and she didn't pay much attention to what her students were doing. The ones who weren't listening to her would pay for that later when exams hit. Mrs. Franklin may be duller than most other teachers, but her exams were always the toughest in the school. Exam time was a big money maker for the students that actually paid enough attention in class to take notes and sell them to the other students.

Slipping his PDA onto his desk, Kwan stared down at the screen. After his conversation with Tucker, he set up an alert system that would tell him whenever Phantom's unique signature registered in the real world. Biting on his lower lip, his mind turned to his brother. The mere thought of the older man was enough to boil the blood rushing through his veins. He would be a lot happier if he never had to deal with his brother again, but right now he had little choice in the matter. If he didn't do something, his brother would track down Phantom, and he didn't want to think what would happen when Jing _did_ find Phantom.

"Mrs. Franklin," Kwan said, his arm shooting up in the air.

The rambling lecture cut off with a startled silence as all eyes seemed to turn to him. The teacher worked her mouth opened and closed like she was struggling to swallow her tongue in her shock of a student actually interrupting her for once in her long career. She adjusted the sparkly silver framed glasses on her wide nose as her green eyes landed on him.

"Uh, yes, um, Long, is it?" Mrs. Franklin's frog like mouth pulled downward at him.

"I need to use the restroom. May I be excused?" Kwan waited expectantly for her answer with his hand still raised.

Mrs. Franklin blinked several times, mouth hanging partially open. It seemed, for the moment, that the woman lost all sense of how to function with this small interruption in her usual lesson plan. "Yes, go right ahead," she answered, waving a hand toward the door.

Kwan gathered up his books as he stood then headed for the door. His long strides carried him swiftly through the halls, his eyes darting periodically toward his PDA to check on the location of Phantom. With his brother posing as a teacher, Kwan decided his best option was to intercept the man somewhere between the computer labs and Phantom's current position, his movement appearing to stop right outside the front of the school. Cramming his PDA back into his pocket, Kwan worried his lower lip, and he repeated in his head that he was doing this to help Fenton, to protect him from a terrible fate in the hands of the Guys in White.

As he predicted, Kwan crossed paths with his brother, whose determined expression with his brow creased and his eyes focused only in front of him like only his destination mattered suggested he was in a hurry. Kwan purposely placed himself in his brother's way, blocking the taller man's path and forcing him to take notice of his younger brother.

"Jing, we need to talk." Kwan's voice held firm, though inside he wanted anything but to talk to his brother. But since his brother seemed bent on trying to open some line of communication between them, suggesting they should talk seemed like the best distraction he could offer at that moment.

"Not now, Kwan. I'm busy." Jing placed a hand on Kwan's shoulder, shoving his brother aside to continue on his way down the hall.

Grinding his teeth, Kwan grabbed Jing by the arm, jerking him back around to face him again. "That's the problem with you," he snapped, managing not to shout in his brother's face, as tempting as that was. "You're _always_ busy."

"Kwan," Jing said, his mouth stretching downward as he pried the hand free from his arm, "you should be in class."

His jaw clenched painfully, and Kwan's eye came very close to twitching in annoyance. "Like it really matters," he ground out, each word holding rage mixed with bitterness. "Mom and Dad will always think I'm not good enough in anything. Why should I bother anymore when in their eyes I'm a worthless idiot, a disgrace to the family name? How could I ever possibly hope to live up to the oh so perfect Jing?" His arms folded over his broad chest, and his eyes narrowed darkly at his brother.

"Kwan, this isn't the time to be having this discussion." Jing turned to start walking again. "Go back to class."

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry," Kwan said in a louder voice, sarcasm and hatred dripping from his words like venom. "I forgot that I only matter when it's convenient for _you_. You only want to talk to me when it somehow affects you."

Jing stepped back up to his brother, seizing the front of Kwan's shirt as his brown eyes took on a dangerous look that Kwan couldn't remember seeing before now. "My work is important to me. There are dangerous viruses in this school, and I'm not going to stand around chatting about this when I should be tracking them down and eliminating them. We can talk _later_."

"No!" The rage burned hotter than ever in Kwan, his hands curling at his sides as short, jagged nails dug into his palms. "If you want to talk to me, it's now or never. I'm not dealing with this anymore. If you can't talk to me now, then there's no point in trying ever again."

"Kwan," Jing growled, the conflict he felt inside seeping into his eyes. Perhaps some part of him really did want to be a good brother, but his desire to succeed at his job was stronger than the wish to become closer to Kwan. "We can talk. I promise-"

"God, Jing!" Kwan stepped back from his brother, pulling free from the hold Jing had on him. He didn't expect that to actually hurt. Years of living under his brother's shadow already told him exactly what his family thought of him. But realizing that his brother couldn't even set aside five minutes to really talk to him when he came to him voluntarily, sort of, cut at him like a knife to the chest. How low on the list did he really rank to his brother? Was he even on the list of things that mattered? Kwan began to think that he wasn't so much as a blip on his brother's radar unless he fouled something up where it concerned Jing's job.

"Kwan," Jing actually tried to look apologetic, and the false sincerity sickened Kwan, "I can't ignore a virus attacking the school."

"We don't need the Guys in White!" Kwan shouted, his words echoing through the empty hall. He snapped up an arm, pointing a finger at his brother. "You treat Phantom like he's some sort of criminal, but he's the one actually succeeding in stopping the virus attacks around town. What do you do? You arrive long after the battle is already fought and you make a mess out of everything. The whole organization is joke, and you're wasting your talents working for such a bunch of dumbasses. And your partner has really messed up eyebrows." The last comment really held no meaning in his argument, but that unibrow really bugged him when he met his brother's partner.

"Phantom causes as much destruction to the town as the viruses he claims to fight against." It was the same argument that all the GIW and Net Protectors used when talking about Phantom. "He's a dangerous digital entity that needs to be stopped."

"He's not-" Kwan shouted, stopping himself as he gritted his teeth. "You're all wrong about him."

Brown eyes narrowed, curiosity dancing through them as Jing took a step closer to his brother. His brow pinched as the gears worked in his brain, trying to puzzle out something that Kwan couldn't figure out based on that expression alone. "What do you know, Kwan?"

"What?" Kwan backed up a step, startled by the question. "I don't know anything!"

"Then why are you so insistent that Phantom isn't as big a threat as we think he is?"

"Because that much is obvious to anyone that actually watches him fight." Kwan spun on his feet. "You're such an idiot, Jing." He walked away as the bell rang, and students immediately filed out of the classrooms, filling the hall. If Jing tried to follow after him, Kwan ignored it as he drew out his PDA. When he checked the screen, it showed no sign of Phantom anywhere. Heaving out a breath in relief, he shoved the PDA into his pocket as he headed for his next class, praying Fenton wouldn't have to fight again anytime soon. He couldn't do that again to distract his brother.

When he got to his next class, Kwan took his seat in the back of the class. His leg shook impatiently as he leaned on one arm, staring out the window to his left. The teacher started talking once class began, describing some random battle that took place hundreds of years ago. Kwan tried to focus on writing notes, but his mind kept drifting to other things, rolling back and replaying the whole confrontation with his brother over and over again. Sighing, he rubbed tiredly at his face. Why did he have to get stuck in this family? He just wanted to get away.

By the time lunch rolled around, the idea of just running away from everything and disappearing was becoming even more tempting to him. But he still had months left before graduating, and his parents had all his savings tied up so that he couldn't take out more than a hundred dollars a month to buy stuff. That wouldn't be enough to survive on if he ran away, and knowing his parents, they would probably cut him off completely if he suddenly disappeared.

The cafeteria doors were up ahead when someone grabbed hold of his arm. Kwan blinked as he was jerked back down the hall away from the cafeteria. "Dash, what's going on?"

"We need to talk." His friend gave no more than that as they headed through the halls.

Dash finally released his arm when they stepped outside. Kwan shivered in the growing cold and tugged his letterman tighter around his body. Dash shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued leading the way, walking away from the school building. A worrisome feeling grew inside Kwan as he frowned at the back of his friend's head, wondering why Dash needed to speak to him in private. When he thought Dash might want to talk some more about his feelings for Fenton, Kwan sighed tiredly. He really couldn't deal with that right now, not right after his little chat with his brother.

"So what stupid move did you make this time?" Kwan questioned when they arrived at the football field. After the attack, the field didn't get much use with most of it torn up and the stands in ruins. But that made it an excellent spot to talk since no one would bother to hang around it.

"Huh?" Dash's brow pinched in confusion, coming out of his distracted thoughts with that question.

"Fenton?" Kwan rolled his eyes at the oblivious look on his friend's face. "Why else would we be coming out here to talk? You must have made some other stupid move on him." He plastered a joking smile onto his face, and it felt strange how easily he could slip on a mask like that.

"I haven't seen Fenton today," Dash admitted, his brow still creasing in that confused manner like he didn't know about what Kwan was talking.

"Then what are we doing out here?" Kwan managed to find a semi still intact part of the stands to collapse onto and tilted his head up to stare at his friend.

Dash rubbed at the back of his neck, dropping his gaze to the ground, and the silence worried Kwan. "Do you like me?"

The mask crumbled. He could feel it falling apart as his heart stopped in his chest. Kwan's eyes were wide, disbelieving the words that came out of his friend's mouth. "Dude, you're only my best friend." He laughed, trying to glue his mask back in place before Dash catch the truth behind it.

Annoyance flashed in dark blue eyes as Dash landed him with a glare. "You know what I meant." His mouth pressed together, and he folded his arms over his chest. "You like me as more than just a friend."

Kwan swallowed, trying to force down the lump of fear choking him. Dash wasn't questioning it. He was stating it as a fact. "Where did you ever hear something like that?" He laughed, forcing it out, and it sounded strange to his ears. It wasn't his usual laugh. It was strained and sounded fake.

Dash stared dully, no amusement anywhere in his expression. "We need to talk about this, Kwan."

"No," Kwan argued, abandoning his mask because it was clearly failing him now. "There's nothing to talk about, Dash."

"You can't have feelings for me and get to pass it off as nothing. We're talking about this."

Kwan rose to his feet, dusting off his pants, taking his time before he stepped up to his friend. He still had the slight height advantage over the quarterback, not to mention a broader frame. "No, Dash, we're not," he said firmly, staring straight into Dash's eyes. "My feelings aren't important. You like Fenton. That's great. I'm happy for the two of you. So just forget that you even found out anything about how I feel. I'm perfectly happy just being your best friend. And _talking_ about it will just ruin everything. Trust me. Things are better this way."

"How are they better?" Dash shouted enraged before he dropped his head into a hand, rubbing at his forehead as he sighed. "Kwan, Fenton doesn't want me. He doesn't even want to try giving it a shot."

"So now I'm the rebound guy? No thanks." Why were things happening like this? Kwan wanted Dash to look at him, wanted Dash to see him as something more than a friend, but not like this. He didn't want to be the guy Dash turned to after the man he really wanted rejected him. He didn't want to be the second choice, even if he really wanted to be with Dash. His heart squeezed in his chest, each beat feeling like an agonizing struggle. Why couldn't Dash choose him from the beginning?

"That's not what I'm saying." Dash raked a hand through his blond locks. "I'm obviously not just going to switch gears from liking Fenton to suddenly being madly in love with you."

Kwan wondered if Dash could possibly know how much that comment killed him.

"I can't just pretend that I don't know you like me," Dash continued, frowning at his friend. "I don't want to hurt you. And I know I have." He stared pointedly at his friend, knowing Kwan would likely argue that fact. "I'm sorry about that. I-" He huffed out a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment. "I was being selfish. It's always been about me, and that's not fair to you. You're my best friend, but I haven't been treating you like a very good one. I never even noticed that I might be hurting you."

"That was the point of you not knowing that I have feelings for you," Kwan pointed out dryly.

"Well, I _do_ know, and I'm sorry for being a terrible friend."

Kwan rolled his eyes. "You're not a terrible friend. I wouldn't call you my best friend if I thought you were terrible."

"From now on, no more talk about Fenton."

Kwan laughed, almost able to make it sound like a real one. "And who are you going to get such great love advice from if you don't talk to me?"

Dash glowered at him, and it felt somewhat like their usual exchanges. "Very funny. But I'm serious." The corners of his mouth tugged downward, and his eyes searched Kwan, who shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. "Everything okay with you? I heard there was an argument earlier, and rumor has it that it was between you and Jing."

Kwan sighed, hanging his head. "That's gotten around school?" He groaned as he wondered what exactly the rumors were saying. "It's not really anything. Just, you know, Jing being his usual jerk self." He scratched a hand through his raven locks, his gaze lowering to the ground. "Great family, huh? None of them think I'm worth the time." A miserable feeling settled in him until arms suddenly wrapped around him, yanking him into a tight embrace. "Uh, Dash?"

"Idiot," Dash muttered, refusing to let him go right away. "You're important to me. And Paulina. And Valerie. So fuck those assholes. They don't deserve to be your family."

Kwan sighed as he rested his head against Dash's shoulder. Sometimes, he believed he wasn't worthy enough to be friends with Dash. "We should probably head to lunch," he mumbled, even though part of him didn't want the hug to end.


	50. Chapter 50

Sitting through classes, waiting until lunch, left him with an impatient feeling. Danny chewed on his thumbnail, tearing piece by piece from the nail as he watched the clock slowly tick the time away. As soon as the bell rang, Danny was out of his desk, making a beeline toward the door. After a quick stop to his locker to shove his things inside it, he headed straight for the bathroom. He cringed as the memory of what happened the last time he stepped into the school bathroom replayed in his head. Each breath through his nose felt like a thousand tiny needles scraping along the inside of his nostrils, forcing him to breathe through his mouth instead. His head still had a dull throb from being rammed into the paper towel dispenser, and his chest ached from being wailed on by the jock. After that experience, Danny realized that Dash had to have held back a lot over the last three years when the blond jock used him as a punching bag because he never hurt this much after a run in with Dash.

Danny waiting impatiently for the last person to exit the bathroom. When he was absolutely certain that no one else was hiding out in there, he made the jump into the NetZone. It took longer than it did with the scythe, having only done it the one time before, but he crafted the motorcycle again out of his energy. Climbing onto it, he peeled away, racing through the ground level of the NetZone in the direction of Vlad's domain. He arrived outside the firewall in mere moments, skidding to halt with the tires screeching as he came inches from slamming into the wall. Maybe he did take after his father a little too much when it came to driving. The motorcycle dissolved into nothing as he approached the firewall and punched in the password to enter the domain.

"Shouldn't you be at school right now?" Vlad barely lifted his gaze for more than a second before he returned to the screen in front of him as he typed out a message.

"It's lunch time," Danny answered as he approached the desk where Vlad sat. He glanced over toward the two sparking bits of virus data, and his mouth pulled downward as he thought about everything that happened recently. "I guess you don't have much reason to pay attention to things like that though."

Vlad stopped his work, turning his attention fully onto the young man in front of him. "I supposed you have some reason for visiting in the middle of the school day."

Danny shifted his weight, white gloved fingers tracing the circuit design on the desk. "First, um," he mumbled quietly, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks as it hit him what he wanted to say, "I want to thank you." The smug expression spreading onto Vlad's face gained a flat glare from Danny. He huffed a sigh as he continued. "Your training has really helped me, and I appreciate you taking the time to teach me what you know."

"Well, I'm glad my time wasn't wasted on you." Vlad's smugness washed away into a frown, his red eyes observing the young man in a way that made Danny feel weird and awkward as those eyes drifted down and back up. The memory of yesterday popped vividly back into his mind, and Danny had the strange feeling of standing there in only the baby blue skirt while the man looked him over, bringing the blush back to his cheeks. "But I'm guessing you didn't come here simply to thank me."

"Uh, right," Danny murmured, jolted from his thoughts of embarrassing situations. "Can you find that virus the Guys in White created?"

Red eyes blinked, Vlad taking a moment to ponder over the question put to him. "It could be possible. However, if this thing is capable of thinking in human terms, it might also have ways of masking its presence, making it appear somewhere when it's really hiding somewhere else."

"That's not good enough. You have to find it now!" Danny shouted as he slammed a fist down on the desk, cracking the surface as an involuntary surge of electricity sparked out from his hand.

Vlad frowned at the first then slowly lifted his gaze to the man stand in front of him. "Daniel, are you feeling all right?"

Swallowing back the hint of fear creeping up in him, Danny pulled his hand back, staring down at it as he uncurled the tight grip, his fingers aching. He hadn't meant to lose control like that. He couldn't think of how to explain the sudden rage that filled him in that moment, and that scared him. His green eyes turned onto Vlad, and he didn't miss the concern etched into the man's expression.

"I just-" Danny hesitated, brain scrambling for an explanation. "I'm just not feeling well. I've been sneezing all day and feeling kind of sluggish." The frown and slight narrowing of red eyes were clear indicators that Vlad didn't buy that explanation. "There was another attack this morning," Danny added before Vlad could speak. "This virus is just toying with me. It's using Valerie. And I'm sick of sitting around waiting for it to finally come out of the shadows. It's time I stop playing the defensive and go on the offense. I'm going to hunt this thing down and stop it before it decides to enter its end game. I'm going to end this. So are you going to help me or not?"

Vlad frowned as his gaze pierced into Danny, who gulped and wondered what the man was thinking at that moment. "I'm always willing to help you, Daniel," he answered after some silent thought. "But it might take me some time to track this virus down, if I'm even able to do it." Doubt tinged his voice as he leaned forward on his desk.

"Notify as soon as you find him." Danny walked to the firewall and halted after opening the doorway. "Thanks. Again. For, you know, everything." His head turned, and he glanced back at Vlad, feeling his cheeks warm. Fighting back that odd sensation, Danny stepped through the door, already focusing his thoughts on crafting the motorcycle again. Each time he used the energy manipulation skill, it got easier to make what he had in mind, taking less time than the prior attempt.

Sliding into place onto the motorcycle, Danny paused to stare at the firewall, now perfectly sealed off without even a single sign that a doorway opened in it only moments ago. _There has to be something wrong with me_ , he thought, shaking his head before he took off back toward the school. He shouldn't be having flustered feelings around someone as old as his own father. _Though it's not like Vlad can't alter his appearance to look younger_ , he thought absently and felt like banging his head on something for that stray thought passing through his brain. Why was he even thinking about things like that now? Until Tucker brought it up, Danny probably never would have started thinking about feelings toward another man. Dash's sudden kiss yesterday really didn't help things either. _Like it even matters_ , he sighed internally. _Vlad wouldn't like me that way_.

When he arrived back at school, Danny left the NetZone, appearing in one of the bathrooms at school. Danny changed back to his human form. "Oh no," he muttered seconds before a sneeze hit him. "Ow!" He tentatively held a hand to his throbbing nose. Groaning, he left the bathroom. Calvin had to be a jerk and break his nose while Danny had a stupid head cold. Frowning, Danny dropped his hand to his throat and wished he thought to wear a turtleneck again. He didn't want to think of how that encounter with the jock would have ended if Lancer didn't show up to interrupt them.

When he arrived in the cafeteria, lunch was already almost over, and his stomach grumbled unhappily at the missed meal. Danny grabbed an apple, one of the few items that he actually knew what it was, and headed over to the usual table. Tucker had the seat right at the end of the bench with Kwan next to him and Dash on the other side of Kwan. Danny frowned seeing the only open seat was next to Dash, like the universe was trying to force them together somehow.

"What happened to your face?" Sam asked when Danny sat down with them.

When all of them turned their heads toward him, Danny shrank down, hunching his shoulders as he absently twisted the stem off his apple. "It's nothing," he murmured, catching the horrified looks on the three women's faces.

"Nothing?" Dash shouted , catching Danny's chin and forcing him to face the jock. "Looks someone tried to bash your face in!" His dark blue eyes lowered, and his hand trailed down to Danny's throat, fingers brushing over the ugly bruises there. Danny gulped as he tried to subtly scoot away from the jock, wishing Dash would stop looking at him like that. "Who did this?" Dash locked his gaze with Danny, and his expression clearly said he wasn't going to drop the topic until he got an answer.

"It's seriously not that big a deal." Danny turned away from the jock as he bit into his apple. Their theater class was bound to be fun with Dash focused on his injuries. He wished he could fix his human injuries the same way that he did his digital ones. If he could rid himself of illness the same way he could remove harmful coding, he wouldn't have to suffer through this head cold.

"Not a big deal?" Sam and Tucker shouted together, drawing the attention of other students around them. "Danny, it looks like someone was seriously trying to kill you," Sam argued with concern in her violet eyes.

When he glanced at Tucker, Danny didn't miss his friend's quick flick of green eyes toward Valerie, who actually appeared worried about him as well. He sighed as he lowered his arm, turning the apple about in his hands. "It's nothing. Just a run in with a jerk. Not like it's the first time some jock decided to beat up on me. And Lancer stopped it, so it's okay."

"Who did it?" each one of them demanded, and Danny shrank again under all their gazes.

"Wow." Danny tried to laugh, but it came out a bit broken. "Who knew you all could talk in unison like that?" His mouth twitched partway into a smile, but none of the others at the table found it amusing. Abandoning the apple on the table, his appetite gone, Danny threaded his fingers through his raven hair. "It was Calvin Williams, okay? Not a big deal. We all know he's the biggest jerk in the school. It's not that surprising that he'd want to beat me up for no reason."

"I'm going to kick his ass," Dash muttered darkly.

"Oh, that's so it!" Paulina pressed her mouth into a thin, angry line. "I'm so plastering that picture of him all over the school. I warned him not to do anything."

"Wait. You both threatened him because of me?" Danny raised an eyebrow, his stomach sinking with that sensation of dread.

"He had a picture of us kissing that he wanted to post up all over the school." Dash's hands were clenched in tight fists on the table.

"Wait. What?" Tucker gaped at them. "You kissed?"

"I'm surprised it took this long for Dash to make his move," Valerie said with a smug smirk.

"The kiss isn't important," Danny snapped and rubbed at his head as it started to throb. "You do realize threatening him only made things worse, right? That was exactly why he attacked me! He obviously wasn't going to do anything against Paulina. And he couldn't stand up against you," he pointed a finger in Dash's face. "But me? I'm the weak one in this scenario. Naturally, he was going to take out his rage on me." Luckily, the bell rang at that moment. Danny snatched up his partially eaten apple as he headed for the door to the cafeteria.

"Okay. Seriously, Danny," Tucker said as he and Sam caught up to him. "When were you going to tell us about the kiss?"

"I was hoping never." Danny frowned at the smirking grin on Tucker's face. He was almost surprised that Sam didn't look as upset as he was expecting when the kiss was announced. "Nothing is going to happen between Dash and me anyway."

"Danny, it's fine if you're gay and want to hook up with him," Sam said, stunning her friend because that wasn't the way he saw her reacting at all. "I know I've always had these lingering feelings for you, but I'm not going to stand in your way of finding someone that you like."

"It's not-" Danny scratched at his head as his mouth pursed. "I just don't like Dash that way. And really, could you see us being together in a serious relationship? Because I can't."

"Well, you could help Paulina and me think up a way to get Dash and Kwan together." Sam wore a devious smirk that Danny learned long ago he hated because it usually meant she had a plan that would end badly for everyone involved.

"Wait. Dash and Kwan? How come no one is filling me in on these things?" Tucker complained.

"Sam, don't try playing matchmaker." Danny sighed wearily. "If they're going to get together, they have to work it out themselves. If you force it, things will just fall apart and neither of them will end up happy."

"You just like spoiling my fun, don't you?" Sam huffed before waving to them as she broke away to head to her next class.

"So how are things going with you and your sugar daddy?" Tucker asked now that they were alone as a smirk stretched wide across his face.

"Oh my god, Tuck!" Danny fought a losing battle to keep the blush off his face. "Don't call him that!"

"Oh, oh!" Tucker poked at his friend's reddened cheeks. "You are so in love with this guy."

"I am-" Danny sneezed and winced at the painful feeling shooting through his nose.

"That's right. It's good to admit it." Tucker patted him on the shoulder, ignoring the glare sent his way. "But, dude, are you okay? That didn't sound so good."

"You try being sick with a busted nose and tell me how it feels each time you sneeze." Danny glared daggers at his friend. "I'll catch up with you after school." Danny waved to Tucker then headed into his next class. When he spotted the three A lists that were in his group, he sighed, hanging his head. "Okay. First off," he said as he joined them, "no more talking about this," he waved at his face. "It's over and done with. Lancer dragged him off to the principal's office. So let's just forget all about it." He dropped into his chair and wished school was over already. None of three looked happy to have the topic of Calvin beating him up as off limits.

"What happened to wearing a dress for a week like we agreed to in our bet?" Paulina questioned, folding her arms as she stared pointedly at him, but Danny suspected some of the rage burning in her emerald eyes was over what Calvin did.

"I'm wearing the dress," Danny argued, pulling at the irritatingly frilly skirt peeking out from under his heavy sweater. "You can't really expect me to walk around in something short and sleeveless when it's this cold out." He shivered as though to prove his point. " And you never said I couldn't wear something other than the dress or skirt."

"Yeah, he's still keeping to the bet, Paulina," Kwan agreed, "so cut him some slack."

Danny appreciated the jocks allowing him some leeway in the whole embarrassing bet, but he frowned when he glanced between Dash and Kwan. The jocks sat awkwardly next each other, not their usual joking selves, ribbing each other as they talked like they did during class since the beginning of the year. The odd shift between the two men worried him. He sneezed then shouted in pain as he leaned forward, holding his nose in his hand as he groaned.

"You're not having a very good day, are you?"

Danny glanced at Paulina, her brow creasing as she frowned at him. "I think that's an understatement," he mumbled with a sigh. "Let's just get on with the rehearsal. We don't have many more days before we actually have to perform this thing." The A lists agreed reluctantly, and they stood up to take their usual places as they ran through the play.


	51. Chapter 51

The remainder of his day was filled with little hiccups of pain every time a sneeze decided to attack him. By the time the final bell rang, Danny's head was a pounding mess, and he was pretty sure he zoned out several times during Lancer's class. He gathered up his things, shoving books into his bag as he sluggishly followed the rest of the class out of the room.

"Fenton, a moment?"

Danny halted, cringing at those simple words. With a sigh, he turned around to face his teacher. "Um, yes, Sir?"

"I just wanted to check on how you're feeling." Lancer frowned as his green eyes narrowed at the sight of the busted nose and ugly bruising around his throat.

Danny unconsciously reached up, wrapping a hand around his neck as he looked away, hoping to hide the bruising from his teacher's sight. "It's fine," he mumbled and wished everyone would stop focusing on his injuries. "I've felt worse so it's okay."

"Daniel, that is _not_ reassuring." Lancer gave him a flat glare, concern for his student managing to sneak into his eyes. "Williams has been expelled. Principal Ishiyama was very upset to hear about Williams strangling you in the bathroom earlier and decided that type of behavior is very much unwelcomed in our school."

A small voice wormed its way to the front his mind, wanting to demand why nothing was ever done with _Dash_ beat him up in the past. But Danny realized he actually kind of liked the jock. Not romantically. But he enjoyed getting to talk with Dash and become sort of friends with the jock these past few months. And Dash never actively tried to kill him when he roughed him up a bit as a bully. It was a strange revelation to realize that he didn't really hate Dash for all those times in the past. But he _had_ always wanted to get in with the cool kids, a stupid dream to be popular that he kept chasing the last three years until finally giving up on it at the start of senior year.

"Well, I'm glad he won't be attacking any other students," Danny said, but mostly he was relieved that he wouldn't have another run in with Calvin at school. He couldn't count on someone to come to his rescue every time, and he didn't want to use his digital powers to fight off a bully, risking exposure to someone that he _really_ didn't want knowing his secret.

"I apologize that you had to experience something like that."

Danny blinked at his teacher. "Uh, well, it's not your fault, Sir. Calvin's just an as- er, jerk." He winced, waiting for Lancer to reprimand him for that near slip.

Lancer sighed, exhaustion washing over his face. "Williams has always been a bit of a troubled student. I've tried to get through to him, but he seems content on continuing his life as a delinquent."

"Sorry, Sir. I guess," Danny rubbed at his neck, "there are just some bad apples that can't be changed." He shrank away when Lancer landed a scary glare on him.

"I wish that statement wasn't true." Lancer ran a hand over his bald head as he sighed. "Unfortunately, there does seem to be quite a few of those bad apples that resist any help offered them." He placed a hand on his student's shoulder. "Please do be more careful in the future, Daniel." He pulled the young man to him in a one armed hug that shocked Danny, who stood still in uncertainty of how to respond. "I don't want to see any more harm come to you."

"Um," Danny turned his gaze to the ceiling, feeling awkward over this whole teacher hugging him thing, "I'll try to be more careful, Sir. Um, I should, uh, probably go. Homework to do and all." Once he was released from his teacher's hold, Danny said a quick goodbye before ducking out of the classroom.

The hall still had several students lingering about, hanging out as they chatted with their friends. Danny hurried to his locker to grab a book he would need for his homework that night. Tucker was already there, waiting for him, as he leaned against the lockers, toying with his PDA as usual. Danny opened his locker and searched through the mess to find the book, frowning as he realized he should probably clean his locker sometimes.

"Danny, I think we need to talk about something," Tucker announced, and Danny really didn't like that worried frown on his friend's face. Green eyes glanced around the hall, darting about quickly before settling back on the raven haired man. "Uh, somewhere private?"

Danny shouldered his bag as he turned to his friend, knowing exactly what the topic of this discussion would be about if Tucker needed to talk somewhere alone with him. "Uh, sure." He took a step to follow Tucker when he heard a growl. "Can it wait? I got something to take care of first."

"Danny, this is kind of important." An unusual urgency filled Tucker's voice as his frown grew.

Danny dropped his gaze to the watch on his wrist, already searching the display for where the virus appeared. "And so is this, Tuck. I," he glanced up at his friend, almost feeling guilty when he saw the hurt in Tucker's expression, "can't just ignore a virus attacking the school."

"Let Valerie deal with it then," Tucker argued, grabbing Danny's wrist as his hand covered the watch. "I _really_ need to talk to you about something."

"I can't. Valerie could get hurt. I have to do this." Danny pried the hand away from him then jogged off down the hall to find a safe place to transform. Conflicting thoughts turned in his head. As Phantom, he had a duty to protect the town from viruses, but that duty was interfering with his friendship, forcing him to ditch his friends. He missed out on a lot with his friends in the fight against viruses. He didn't get to hang out with Sam and Tucker just kicking back and relaxing, enjoying life like an average teenager, as much as he wished he could.

After transforming, Danny rushed to the site of the virus outbreak. Students gasped when they saw him racing past them through the halls. Several girls giggled and whispered to each other when they saw him. He spied Paulina and Dash both following him with their eyes while Kwan looked oddly concerned. Skidding around a corner, he nearly slammed right into Sam only just managing to twist out of her path and avoid sending them both toppling to the ground.

"Wait, Phantom!" Sam shouted, reaching for him.

"Can't!" Danny yanked his arm away before Sam could grab hold of him. "Virus attacking. Gotta take it down."

Danny kept running, bursting out the back doors of the school. The marker indicating the virus' location led him to the trashed football field. Coming to a halt, Danny pushed the translucent green visor up, resting it atop his head as he stared at the virus before him. The fact that it had a spider's body really didn't surprise him after fighting against the army of smaller spider viruses recently. His eyelids slipped half shut as he stared dully at the predictability of the big bulbous black body supported by eight spiny legs. The human torso protruding from the body, however, gave him pause. The clear dome showing off a squishy brain was kind of sickening to stare at, so Danny tried to focus on the green skinned face and the black sunglasses hiding the virus' eyes.

"I guess I didn't need to ask Vlad to hunt down the boss after all," Danny mumbled as the virus laughed to the skies.

"Who is this nut job?"

Danny nearly jumped at Valerie's voice. "Uh," he said, dragging it out from the shock of the woman appearing right next to him, and even more surprisingly, she didn't have a gun aimed at his head. "Final boss?" He didn't have a name to call the virus. "And by the way, he," Danny pointed at the virus, "was the start of all this. He's the one that attacked Axion Labs."

Valerie pulled out one of her guns. "Well, then I finally know who to take out all my aggressions on."

"Wait. So are we, uh, cool then?" Danny scratched a hand through his white hair, feeling rather confused.

"You should thank the Goth chick." Valerie turned her attention back onto the virus. "Got a plan for fighting this thing?"

"Ahahaha! You think you can defeat me?" the virus demanded as he landed his gaze upon them, and a grin stretched wide across his face. "I, Technus, the master of all things technological and electronic, soon to rule over this miserable world will not be defeated by a mere human and a pesky, illogical program."

"Oh good," Danny muttered dryly. "He's the type that shouts out his name. That's always fun."

"Think he'll shout out his plan if we ask?" Valerie whispered back to him.

Danny couldn't get over the strangeness that she wasn't trying to kill him. He wondered what exactly Sam said to Valerie to make her stop raging at Phantom. He grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out of the way as a sharp leg descended on them. The tip of it pierced into the turf of the field.

"Let's worry about the evil master plan later," Danny suggest as he released her arm, though he already had an idea of what Technus had planned. A smirk almost made its way onto his face, smug satisfaction at the fact that the virus failed in its plan to corrupt him. "Let's take him down. Then you can beat the answers out of him all you like."

"Sounds like my kind of plan." Valerie charged forward, taking aim at the virus with her weapon.

Technus followed her movements, but only a confident grin cut across his face. Something about it didn't feel right to Danny as Valerie's gun whirled to life with that familiar noise that tended to send a shiver down his spine. But a second later, the sounds shut off. Valerie dropped her gaze to the weapon, not understanding why her gun failed her when it worked perfectly every other time she fought against the viruses. Why then would her equipment fail her now? It hit him like getting punched a second time in the face by Calvin as his wide green eyes turned onto the virus.

"Val!" Danny shouted in a panic. "Valerie, get out of that suit!"

"Huh? Why?" Confusion played in her voice as Valerie turned to him.

"Pathetic human, are your ears incapable of listening?" Technus actually sounded amused instead of annoyed, and Danny's fear crawled up several more notches.

"Just get out of the suit!" Danny shouted.

"I am the master of technology and electronics." Technus' grin grew wider as he stared down at Valerie. "I even control that suit I so generously gave you to fight against Phantom."

"Valerie!" Danny rushed toward the woman as her screams filled the air. White hot electricity danced over her body in waves. Valerie dropped to her knees, losing her grip on her gun that thumped to the ground beside her. When he reached her, Danny grabbed at her but yanked back his hands when the electricity seared through his white gloves, revealing pale flesh beneath it. "Stop it," Danny ordered, growling as he snapped his gaze to the virus. "She has nothing to do with this, so leave her alone." His gaze darkened, glaring at his enemy. Viruses were ruining everything in life, hurting people he cared about. His fists squeezed tightly as the only thought running in his head was that he needed to defeat all the viruses once and for all.

"Yes, good," Technus said, enjoyment over the situation a teasing note in his voice. "Let the virus consume you."

Danny gritted his teeth, holding back shouting at the virus that his stupid plan to corrupt him failed. That was, according to Vlad, his upper hand in this situation: Technus believed Phantom was turning into a virus. His attention strayed from the virus when he heard something hit the ground. Valerie fell back, the suit melting off her and the watch on her wrist smoking slightly after being busted. He knelt beside her, hands hovering over her, too scared to touch her in case he made things worse.

"Are you okay, Valerie?" Danny asked in concern.

Green eyes cracked open and slid toward him. "I'm sorry," Valerie whispered in a hoarse voice. "I should have listened to you from the beginning." Regret filled her eyes as they slipped shut again.

"No! Valerie! Hang in there." Panic raced through Danny when Valerie didn't respond.

"What is this pathetic attachment to humans?" Technus questioned, baffled by Danny's reaction.

Twisting his head around, Danny rose slowly to his feet. "You crossed a line there, Technus." Electricity crackled in the air around him as he stepped closer to the virus.

"Da- uh, Phantom! Stop!"

Danny shot a glance over his shoulder, seeing Tucker arriving at the football field with Sam, Paulina, Dash, and Kwan all following after him. He raised his hand toward them and a field of green hexagonal screens encompassed them, sealing them off from approaching him and his opponent. Panic flashed across Tucker's face as he banged on the screens.

"No more distractions," Danny said as he turned back to the virus. "I'm going to end you."

Technus laughed, the loud noise echoing in the air. "Soon, you'll be my little puppet. A pet virus of my own creation, and we'll rule over this world. Our first order of business will be destroying that wretched organization known as the Guys in White."

The electricity grew more intense as it gathered in his hand. "You are so wrong that it's not even funny. I will _not_ ," Danny ground at the word as he raised his arm toward the virus, "be a puppet!" A burst of green energy exploded from his hand, sparks of red bleeding through it.

Technus shouted out, stumbling back before he managed to erect a shield of binary to protect him from the assault. "You dare to attack your master?" Metal wires shot out of the virus' arm, spearing right toward Danny. "I _control_ you!"

"Afraid not, babbling buffoon." Shields went up to block the wires. Danny's eyes shot worriedly toward Valerie, still laying on the ground unconscious. He needed to move away from her before any stray attacks hit her. Pushing his wall of shields forward, he shoved Technus back to put distance between them and Valerie.

"Foolish child!" The metal wires broke through the shields, seizing Danny in his moment of shock. "My virus is already eating away what you were and turning into something better." The wires twisted around Danny's arms and legs, squeezing around his waist and throat. "The change has already started, and you're not even aware of it." Technus threw back his head as he laughed in triumph.

This virus was clearly out of his mind, and Danny had had enough of being toyed around with by some government crafted rogue virus. The scythe appeared in his hand, the blade glowing a faint white around the green. He maneuvered it with some difficulty to slice through the wires binding him. That was the problem with overconfident viruses: they underestimated his abilities. Technus shouted out as the wires writhed through the air, leaking that gross clear substance. Danny charged forward and leaped. The blade of the scythe dragged down through the virus' body as he dropped back to the ground, landing neatly on his feet. The two halves produced loud thuds as they keeled over and hit the ground. Danny watched coldly as they began to dissolve, melting into that same clear liquid that spilled from the wounds of the digital beings.

"Savor your victory!" Technus somehow managed to still laugh like he won the battle. "Your transformation is complete!" His smirk spread over the two halves was the last thing burned into Danny's mind before the virus dissolved into a sick pool of clear ooze.

"Phantom!"

Danny turned around at the shout, his hand clutched tightly around his scythe as his eyes narrowed at the group of students. Paulina crouched beside Valerie, worriedly checking on the other woman. Tucker stepped up to him, terror consuming his green eyes as he nervously played with his PDA.

"D-Phantom," Tucker said in a cautious tone, throwing a quick glance back at the group behind him. "That cold you had. All that sneezing. It wasn't just a regular cold. You-" He chewed on his lower lip, fearful of the words he wanted to say. "Your digital makeup was being corrupted. I didn't know! I'm sorry. I realized what was happening too late. You're not-"

"Phantom anymore?" Danny smirked, a cruelness creeping into his expression. "No, I'm better." He brought up the scythe, the blazing white blade inches from Tucker's face. "I have the power to annihilate all the viruses destroying our lives. I have the power to protect this town. I'm not the weak, pathetic Phantom anymore. I'm the EXEcutioner."


	52. Chapter 52

After parting ways with Danny when lunch ended, Tucker collapsed into his seat in his next class. He was still grinning to himself after his friend's reaction to a little teasing. Part of him was very disturbed by the fact that his friend was apparently crushing on, even if he was in denial about it, a man old enough to be his father. He shuddered at the imagery of Danny being with someone that old, though in terms of looks, he guessed Vlad Masters wasn't all that bad, but that didn't lessen the weirdness of them being together. But if Vlad made Danny happy, that was the only part that really mattered to Tucker. His friend deserved to be with someone he loved, no matter how creepy other people might see it. Tucker cringed when he thought of how Sam would react when she learned who Danny actually liked. She was surprisingly cool with the idea of Dash kissing Danny, and Tucker wondered about that since he was pretty sure she was still harboring feelings for him.

Sighing, he dropped his gaze to his PDA, deciding to put thoughts of his friend's love life out of his head. He tapped through the screen, only halfway paying attention to his teacher as the tall man rambled on about formulas for math. He would probably regret not listening to his explanation of how to do their homework, but his attention strayed to his PDA, but not simply because of his love for technology. A frown crossed his face. Maybe technology really was the only love he would have in his life. Unlike Danny, Tucker had trouble getting _anyone_ to like him. Valerie rolled her eyes any time he tried to use one of his pickup lines on her. Maybe, just maybe, Danny had a point with his advice of simply talking to a woman instead of hitting on her with lame lines that made her gag and walk away. Tucker laughed to himself, never imagining that he would take romance advice from Danny of all people. But Danny _was_ doing better than he was in the love department.

Shaking his head, Tucker focused back on the task at hand. His green eyes flicked over the screen as he read through the data on his PDA. His frown grew as a cold sense of dread trickled down his spine. What was this even? The change in the Phantom coding that he picked up during lunch was vastly different from the unique signature taken from the football game, that Kwan thankfully transferred to him. The little blip he noticed the other day had him worried, but even after spending a good portion of the night analyzing the data, he couldn't puzzle out what caused that minute change. Tucker tried to gather up enough saliva in his very dry mouth to swallow. Now his worry bloomed to full out panic as he tried to make sense of the change in the Phantom coding. What was happening to Danny? Glancing at the clock, he tried to will the time to move faster. He needed to talk to Danny. _Now_.

Tucker waited impatiently through his classes, grinding his teeth as the time before the final bell slowly ticked away. He kept going over the data, again and again, and each time more of the picture became clearer to him. When it finally made sense to him, he felt like kicking himself for not realizing it sooner. It was so obvious in retrospect! But of course, they would pass off a cold as nothing more than that since this was the time of season when people got sick. They didn't stop to wonder about how Danny's cold coincidentally hit him at the same time that the change started appearing in his coding. That horrible feeling washed over him again as he rubbed at his face. He should have seen it sooner. He should have told Danny about the blip the moment he spotted it. But he thought he could figure out what was happening and a way to stop it before it got worse.

As soon as he heard the bell, Tucker packed up his things and headed straight for their lockers, knowing that would be where Danny was likely to go first. He reached their assigned lockers and leaned back against them with his PDA clutched in his hands. He really hoped Danny would to listen to him before this _thing_ could finish what it started.

"Danny, I think we need to talk about something," Tucker said the moment Danny turned up to get something from his locker. He glanced about the hall and realized this was definitely not the best place to hold this conversation. "Uh, somewhere private?" Danny _had_ to understand what the "talk" would revolve around from that. Relief flooded him when Danny agreed to talk, but tension rose up in him when he heard a growl.

"Can it wait?"

_Shit!_ Tucker went back into panic mode as soon as he heard that simple three word question. He actually cursed that damn sense of nobility that Danny had, risking his life to protect the town and the NetZone from harmful viruses. "Danny, this is kind of important," Tucker told him, putting as much urgency into his voice possible, praying that Danny would take the hint and realize that what he had to say couldn't be delayed.

"And so is this."

Tucker restrained the urge to strangle his friend. Why couldn't Danny drop the hero role for two seconds? His life was hanging in the balance at that very moment, and he wasn't even aware of it! Desperation crept into Tucker as he tried to think of some way to grab his friend's attention and keep him from running off to fight yet another virus. "Let Valerie deal with it then." He caught Danny by the wrist, hand squeezing over that damnable watch. Valerie had the gear to fight viruses and the karate skills to make her a deadly foe. She could handle a virus alone without Danny to back her up just this once. "I _really_ need to talk to you about something."

"I can't."

Tucker's grip fell slack at those words, and he watched numbly as Danny jogged down the hall. A hand went to his head, scratching through the fuzz of hair and knocking back the usual red beret that he wore. He had to do something. He couldn't let Danny run straight into a situation that could cost him his life at this rate. Rushing down the hall, he tried to follow his friend after losing sight of him during that moment of panic. It wasn't hard to find him when all Tucker had to do was follow the murmurs of people seeing Phantom race through the school.

"Foley!" Kwan caught his arm, stopping Tucker in his tracks. "What's going on? We just saw Phantom run by."

Tucker gulped because behind Kwan, he spotted Paulina and Dash. He could explain things to Kwan but not with the other two A lists present. "I, uh," he scrambled for some explanation that didn't out Danny to the other two, "think something bad is happening to Phantom. If we don't stop him, I - I don't know what's going to happen, but I don't think it'll be good." He turned away and started running after his friend again, barely acknowledging the thuds of the footsteps trailing after him.

Sam blinked in surprise when Tucker raced by her. "Uh, did you do something to piss off three of the most popular A lists?" she questioned, easily keeping pace with him as they ran down the hall.

"Chasing," Tucker panted, wishing he was a better athlete, "Phantom." He regretted the words immediately after they left his mouth and he saw the excitement reach into Sam's eyes. That announcement, of course, only urged Sam to run faster, breaking out the back door of the school first.

When they reached the football field, they found Phantom kneeling over the prone form of Valerie. Tucker gawked, wondering what could possibly have happened to the woman. Fear and panic mixed inside him, and he prayed she was all right.

"Oh god, Valerie!" Paulina gasped with her hands to her mouth, worry for her friends filling her expressive emerald eyes.

As concerned as he was for Valerie's well being, Tucker snapped his attention back to Danny. _Shit, no!_ Another flare of panic washed through him as he noticed the charge of electricity crackling through the air around him. The black of Phantom's usual costume washed away to white as he approached the virus, large and spidery, before him.

"Da- uh," Tucker winced, catching himself before shouting at his friend, "Phantom! Stop!" He rushed toward his friend, praying, _begging_ , that he wasn't too late to save him. Danny glanced his way, their eyes locking for a brief moment, and Tucker froze on the spot as the angry red bleeding into green eyes glared into him. Green washed through his vision, and it took a minute for him to realize that Danny put up a barrier around them. "Damn it!" he shouted as he pounded on the energy shields preventing them from going to his friend.

"What the hell is going on?" Dash demanded, grabbing hold of Tucker by the shoulder and forcing him to turn around and face them. All of them looked worried, Paulina's eyes remaining on Valerie's unmoving form.

"Why does Phantom look... different?" Sam frowned, walking up to the barrier, placing a hand to it.

"It's not - He's-" Tucker shouted out in frustration as he scratched at his head.

"Foley, breathe," Dash ordered sharply, annoyance crawling into his blue eyes. "Use your words."

"He's... changing," Kwan mumbled, deep lines etching into his brow as he watched the fight taking place on the football field. "Don't say it." He waved them off before anyone could make a comment. "I know that much is obvious based on just looking at him. I don't mean just in outward appearance." He turned to Tucker, and they could have held a conversation simply looking into each other eyes. "That blip you spotted was the start of this. Shit!" Kwan beat a fist against the shield. "We should have realized what was happening sooner."

"Wait. So you both have been monitoring Phantom? This _whole_ time?" Sam frowned, violet eyes narrowing at her friend.

"Before you start yelling at me," Tucker said quickly, already seeing the start of Sam's rant building her furious expression, "I _did_ lose the Phantom coding. I only got it back recently because of Kwan."

"Ew!" Paulina shouted, drawing all attention to her. "Is that thing _melting_?" She pointed toward where Phantom fought against the virus. They all turned to look, watching as the two halves of the human-spider virus dissolved away, and Tucker felt cold dread as he saw the wispy white hair wafting in the air like flames.

"Phantom!" Tucker shouted, immediately jogging forward the moment the shields dropped around them.

Paulina ignored them as she went to Valerie's side, more concerned with checking on her friend. Tucker couldn't blame her for that since all of his worries were centered around his best friend. He gulped nervously when Danny landed his red eyed gaze on him. The scythe looked pretty dangerous and deadly, only adding to his nervousness. He risked another step closer to his friend as he clutched his PDA in his hands, biting his lower lip as he checked the data on it.

"D-Phantom," Tucker glanced back at the others before facing Danny again. He tried to explain about the cold being connected to the corruption of his coding. How could he not have seen it before? He felt horribly guilty, and not only for that reason. The whole start of this, Tucker couldn't see any other explanation, began when he accidentally set off the Data Deleter that struck Danny in the chest. Maybe being human at the time saved him from any major damage right away, but he didn't come out of it completely unharmed, digitally. The red mark from the blast had stayed for quite awhile after the accident. This was all his fault! "I'm sorry. I realized what was happening too late. "You're not-"

"Phantom anymore?"

The smirk on his friend's face was nothing like Tucker could ever remember seeing. The cruelness of it paralyzed Tucker with fear as the blazing white blade of the scythe was held far too closely to his face for his liking. This wasn't his friend anymore. This wasn't Danny. Tucker's hands trembled, the PDA nearly slipping from them as he gulped.

"I'm not the weak, pathetic Phantom anymore. I'm the EXEcutioner." Then, like a flash of white light, he was gone, disappearing into the NetZone before anyone could get their wits about them.

"I called for an ambulance," Paulina announced, breaking the strained, tense silence that fell over them. She knelt beside her friend as she clutched Valerie's hand tightly in her own.

"Good. That's good." Tucker nodded numbly, lacking for something better to say.

"So what are we going to do about Phantom?" Sam's mouth pursed as her brow drew to the center. "Or I guess, EXEcutioner now. I don't exactly know what happened, but I'm guessing this name change and new appearance is a bad thing."

"Very bad," Kwan agreed as he folded his arms over his broad chest. "His data was being slowly corrupted. We only noticed a small blip in the beginning, but we couldn't determine just from that what was happening to him. It was such a small thing that it almost seemed insignificant at the time Most people would have simply overlooked it entirely."

"Can you do anything to help him?" Dash questioned, blue eyes glancing between the two resident techno geeks of their group.

"I," Tucker started hesitantly, sharing a glance with Kwan, "don't know. The change might be too much a part of his coding now to be fixed or removed."

"Well, try!" Dash shouted.

"We'll do what we can." Kwan placed his hands on his friend's shoulders. "But this isn't going to be as easy as cleaning viruses and harmful content off your computer. He's not just some random program. We can't just, like, wipe him clean and reboot him."

"That would certainly be a poor idea."

Tucker jumped at the sudden, new voice, and he spun around, turning his attention, like the others, onto the man that appeared. Perhaps digital being would be a better term, Tucker realized as he took in the strange appearance of the man with his black hair shaped similar to horns and his red eyes and oddly colored skin. It was only a guess, but Tucker suspected this was Vlad in his digital form as there were some similarities in appearance between them if he squinted hard enough to see them. _Okay_ , Tucker thought distractedly, _maybe I can kind of see how Danny fell for the guy_. In this form, Vlad didn't have that whole "old as Danny's father" look to him.

"Who exactly are you?" Dash demanded, narrowing his eyes at the man.

Vlad gave the jock a dry look. "I'm going to assume that you're Phantom's friends." But something in his look told Tucker that the man already knew who Danny's friends were. "Then I have a task for you." His red eyes landed on Tucker, who jolted and gulped under the man's gaze. "I need you to keep track of Phantom's location in the NetZone. When you find him, I need you to block him off. Trap him in one spot before he can do too much damage." He plucked the PDA from Tucker's hands. "And when you do, contact me immediately. I'll track him on my own, but it'll go faster with more than one person looking for him, and it'll be easier to deal with him if he can't keep running around." He handed the PDA back to Tucker. "I've programmed my contact information into this."

"You still haven't explained who exactly you are." Sam frowned darkly as she placed her hands on her hips.

Vlad turned his gaze onto the woman, not looking very impressed by the scowl she directed at him. "I'm the one who has been teaching him how to utilize his skills to their fullest."

"You know how to save Phantom?" Dash asked skeptically, and from the glower, he didn't like the man.

"I'll find a way," Vlad answered with such a strong conviction in his voice that Tucker couldn't find any sense of doubt that the man would save Danny.

"Look," Tucker said as he turned toward Sam and the A lists. "We're not helping Phantom by standing around here arguing with him. There's not a whole lot that we can do ourselves while Phantom is running wild in the NetZone. This guy," he pointed his thumb at Vlad, "can actually enter the NetZone and do something about Phantom. I say we just follow his plan and try to block Phantom's movements and keep him in one spot until this guy can do something to save him."

The others were reluctant but agreed that was probably their best option in this situation. Vlad left them to it, heading for an access point to jump back into the NetZone and start his own tracking of Danny.

"I," Paulina said hesitantly, "don't really know all that much about technology."

"It's probably better for someone to stay with Valerie," Kwan pointed out, looking like he wanted to stay and make sure Valerie would be all right too. They could hear the sirens of a coming ambulance in the distance, and Tucker was certain they all felt relieved at the quick response.

"Let's get cracking on this, Kwan." Tucker grabbed the jock's arm and started pulling him toward the school. There was a gathering near the building, students hanging back in uncertainty of the fight they witnessed. They pushed their way through the crowd and into the building. Kwan made getting through the throng fairly easy, his larger body creating a path for them. Once inside the building, they raced through the halls toward the computer lab. It wouldn't be the greatest set up, but it was the best they had on hand at the moment. Right now, speed was an important factor in finding and containing Danny. Tucker prayed repeatedly in his head that Vlad could save his friend.


	53. Chapter 53

"So what exactly is your plan?" Ember asked dryly, folding her arms as she stared at the hunter virus. That ridiculous spider monstrosity called Technus left what felt like ages ago, and many other patrons of The Vortex decided now was probably the best time to leave, some whispering about going into hiding. Beyond this "corrupt Phantom into a virus" thing that Skulker announced was Technus' goal, no one knew what would happen after the plan succeeded. And none of them apparently wanted to hang around and find out.

Skulker lifted his head from examining a missile launcher to land annoyed green eyes on her. "I don't have a plan," he answered, mouth thinning, "exactly."

"You were basically going to track them down and blow the shit out of them, weren't you?" Ember smirked when she caught his glower. Sometimes, knowing the other virus made his moves seem horribly predictable. "I may not be a great hunter like you," she tried very hard not to let another smirk slip onto her face, "but something tells me that's not going to work."

She was being snarky, almost treating the situation like it was a joke, something to laugh about later when Skulker's plan backfired terribly in his face. But inside, she was shaken. She kept her arms folded, hands clenched in tight fists under her arms as she tried to keep the mask in place to hide her fears. She didn't any better than rest what would happen if Technus succeeded in his plan. Phantom was already a thorn in their sides, popping up whenever they tried to cause mischief. Being twisted into a virus, who knew what that would do to him?

"I mean," Ember continued, rolling her bright green eyes, "if this virus thing has already attached itself to the dipstick, how exactly are you going to stop it? Maybe we should just get out now before the storm hits the NetZone."

Skulker placed the missile launcher on the bar top as he stood. Ember eyed him warily, jaw setting tightly as he slowly turned toward her. His hand dropped heavily onto her shoulders, squeezing firmly around them as he stared intensely into her eyes. "Run," he told her, voice serious, no hint of a joke in his expression. "Go hide like the rest of them. Find some place safe to stay until all of this blows over. But me? I'm going to put up whatever fight I can. I'm not letting some stupid spider thing beat me."

"This isn't some contest, Skulker!" Ember shouted, slapping the hands away from her. "This is serious. Whatever Technus has up his sleeve could turn out to be really bad. For _all_ of us. Stop being so pigheaded about this." She didn't even know why she was trying to talk sense into the tin head since Skulker hardly listened to a word she said anyway. He always said the wrong thing and got on her last nerve. She should consider it a blessing that he might run off and get himself deleted or so badly injured that his coding was permanently damaged. It might give him a better personality.

"You can be so," Skulker raised his hands, making strangling motions as his face twisted with rage, "so _infuriating_!" He wiped a hand over his head, sliding through the flaming green Mohawk. "I try so hard to impress you, but you just brush me off like a piece of trash. Even now, when I'm trying to do the right thing by you, you just act like I'm an idiot."

"You are an idiot," Ember pointed out flatly, giving him a withering glare. He was a fool if he thought hunting and capturing Phantom was going to impress her. She didn't care for Phantom in the slightest. He was a nuisance, but she mostly stuck to The Vortex and working on her music, the only thing that really mattered to her as her programming dictated in the same manner as hunting was Skulker's primary function.

Skulker growled, grinding his teeth as his shoulders hunched. Then suddenly, he caught her face between his hands. Ember couldn't even think of how to react when he leaned in and their mouths smashed together. It was a terrible kiss, rushed and roughed, and she wanted to pull back and slap him while yelling at him for doing something so impossibly stupid at a time like this. But then he moved in closer, their mouths shifted against each other into something more comfortable. A hand slid back to hold her head while the other skimmed down her body and wrapped securely around her waist. The harshness softened into something tender that surprised the singer, who never imagined the hunter to be capable of something like that. When he pulled away, Ember could only stare in stunned silence at him.

"You're both idiots, if you ask me," Nocturne commented offhandedly as he flicked lazily through the data on a screen before him. He leaned on the bar at the other end from them with a rather bored expression on his face.

Skulker released his hold on Ember as he turned fully to the program. "You're just going to stay here? Shouldn't you go into hiding or something? You don't have any sort of fighting capabilities as a mere program."

"This mere program," Nocturne snapped his gaze away from the screen and narrowed his eyes at the hunter, "will remain in his home. It's the only thing I have left."

Ember frowned as Nocturne focused back on the screen, sorrow and pain tingeing his gaze. Everyone had heard about what happened with him and Vortex. This place he set up was really the only thing left in the program's life that held any meaning for him. Nocturne lived everyday to fulfill the dream he had with Vortex, and if he ever lost it, Ember doubted the program would care if he ended up being completely erased from the NetZone.

A crash sounded from outside, and tension immediately filled the room. Her eyes drifted toward the exit as fear crept up her spine. She was fairly certain she didn't want to know what was happening outside, but curiosity was drawing her interest. She gulped nervously, her insides twisting uncomfortably as a tight feeling squeezed at her chest. Skulker snatched up his missile launcher then headed for the door. Ember watched him, her gaze following his every move. He couldn't possibly be that stupid.

"Wish me luck," Skulker said, throwing a grin over his broad shoulder before his pushed through the door and stepped outside The Vortex.

"That idiot is going to get himself killed," Ember grumbled, a feeling she wasn't used to gnawing at her sides.

"I thought you would be happy if he ended up getting himself killed," Nocturne said dully, hardly interested in the affairs of the other two viruses.

"I don't care what happens to him," Ember sniffed stiffly. Leaning over the bar, she grabbed her guitar from where it was leaning against the bar. "But I'm not going to sit back and let any destruction come to this place. It's," she hesitated as she glanced Nocturne's way, her hands gripping her guitar tightly, "another home to me. And I'll be damned if I let that idiot fail to keep this place intact."

It wasn't like it was one hundred percent a lie. She walked toward the exit, following after the hunter. The Vortex was an important place to her, but some part of her kept whispering that maybe she wasn't being fully honest with her reasons. When she stepped outside of the establishment, Ember froze as her eyes locked on the duo before her. Skulker fired one of his missiles, the projectile soaring through the air at his target, which dodged swiftly. The rocket exploded on impact with the ground, creating cracks through the hard surface as smoke billowed into the air.

"Hold still!" Skulker shouted, abandoning the launcher that hit the ground with a loud clunking clatter. He reached behind him, drawing forward the gun strapped to his back. Raising it up, he took aim at the one he was fighting.

Ember's eyes widened as she stared at the rogue program. Phantom... didn't look like Phantom. In body shape and facial appearance, he was absolutely recognizable as the nuisance that plagued the viruses of the NetZone. But that was basically where the similarities ended. This Phantom was a blinding vision in white. His eyes glowed blood red with a crazed gleam to them. His hair, she almost laughed to see that it copied her and Skulker with the white flames dancing upon his head.

He was far more skilled than the Phantom she remembered seeing at the human assembly called a football game. She only joined Skulker on that little excursion because it would be her first time getting to break out of the NetZone. The idea was thrilling at the time, getting to wreak a bit of chaos upon the users. Toying with Phantom was a mere side note to her. Skulker could have all the fun he liked with the rogue program. She merely wanted the chance to make the users dance.

Phantom dodged the attacks with surprising speed. Brilliant white shields of energy went up to protect him from time to time. The bursts from Skulker's gun barely made a dent on these barriers. Ember's breath caught in her throat, lodging there like a lump that was slowly choking her. Phantom had grown much stronger since she saw him last, and that progress frightened her. Was this all because of the virus that Technus created and implanted into the rogue program? Was this terrifying vision the plan Technus crafted so carefully from the shadows?

White sparks danced down Phantom's right arm as a ball of energy formed in the palm of his hand. Ember could barely blink as she watched the fight taking place before her. His left arm thrust out toward Skulker, sending a spinning disc of energy at the hunter. Immediately his own shields went up as Skulker protected himself from the attack. When the disc struck, it fizzled out like it barely contained a flicker of energy. Ember's mouth open, a shout of warning trying to break free, but no sound would leave her mouth. The white exploded from Phantom's right hand and crashed into the shields. Skulker gritted his teeth, his brow creasing in concentration to maintain the barrier before him. But each shield started to crack under the pressure of the massive onslaught. The rush of energy, the shattering of the barrier, echoed in her ears as the wash of crackling white energy eclipsed Skulker's form. His screams filled the air, the agony in his voice tearing at her heart.

This wasn't right.

She heard a thousand tales of Phantom's deeds while working in The Vortex. He fought to protect the NetZone. He had some stupid and ridiculous sense of nobility that Ember couldn't even begin to fathom. This, what she was seeing right now, wasn't how Phantom was supposed to act. Something was horribly wrong with this scene. If Technus' plan was to make Phantom into another virus, why was Phantom still attacking them? Why did he look like he was out for their blood? In the figurative sense as they technically didn't have blood in the same sense as users.

Hot moisture trailed down her cheeks, and Ember quickly scrubbed at her eyes with a black glove covered hand. She wasn't some weak program that could only sit idly while someone was attacking. After twisting the knob on her guitar, she yanked the pick from between the strings on the neck. Her fingers easily found their places after many long hours of practicing how to play. Then she strummed down hard, sending out a loud, strong burst of energy. She managed to catch him by surprised as the sound wave crashed into him. Phantom skidded back, his powerful attack cut short, before he managed to erect a barrier to protect him from the musical cord.

Ember quickly turned her gaze onto Skulker. Pain pierced through her chest when she saw him lying on the ground. She kept imagining him jumping back to his feet, laughing it off and saying he was perfectly okay, bragging that a little thing like that couldn't hurt him. She waited for it, but Skulker remained there not moving. Her legs nearly gave out under her as she took a few trembling steps toward him. Her vision blurred, her eyes burning as the tears threatened to spill over again. She gasped, struggling to breathe as she looked over the damage done to him. Almost all of him looked like the layers of his body were torn away and holes were ripped straight through him. Half his face was missing, and one arm was completely severed from him, laying several feet away from his body.

But her attention was torn away from Skulker when Phantom made his presence known again. He was before her in a flash, a scythe appearing in his hand. "Please," she begged, her voice thick with emotion as her body trembled. Her hands felt numb with their tight grip on the guitar. "Please don't." Each breath ached in her chest, and the tears fell hotly down her cheeks, probably ruining her makeup though that hardly mattered at the moment. "You've already hurt him enough. Just - Just leave us alone!" She shouted her plea at him, feeling pathetically weak in that moment. But she was scared, and she didn't understand the feelings clawing at her. Why was she getting so emotional over what happened to Skulker? This wasn't usually how she reacted when he turned up looking like a mess. But he also never got this severely injured. The revelation shocked her when she realized she hated seeing Skulker like this, looking all broken and near death. She didn't want him to be hurt like this ever again. She wanted - She blinked, a fresh trail of tears spilling from her eyes. She wanted Skulker. She wanted him whole and safe and at her side, even if he was an idiot that could never say the right thing.

"Don't worry," Phantom said in an eerie voice as his mouth stretched into a creepy grin that sent shivers through the singer. He lifted his scythe, the blade pressing close to her throat. "Soon neither of you will have to feel pain ever again."

"This isn't you, Phantom." Ember tried to sound strong, keep a firm voice, but a waver managed to find its way into her words. "It's the virus. You," and she couldn't believe she was saying it, "have to fight it. Remember who you really are."

"I know exactly who I am." His eyes turned cold as they narrowed at her. "I'm the EXEcutioner." The simple statement sent dread through her, settling deep in the singer's gut. "I'm going to eliminate every last virus and free the NetZone from your terrible rule." His grin stretched even wider as he lifted his choice of weapon above his head. "I hope you've made your peace because you're about to meet your maker."

Ember clamped her eyes shut, cringing back as the scythe descended upon her. A strangled shout of rage reached her ears. Cautiously, she cracked open one green eye, numbed by the fact that she didn't feel the blade carve through her body. She blinked, eyes opening wide as she stared at Phantom entangled with chains, drawn several feet back from her. The familiar, and unimaginatively crafted, security programs had Phantom captured. But the sight of the head of the Guys in White security on the NetZone, the Warden Walker, made Ember gulp with a new wave of terror. She dropped to her knees, clutching her guitar in her hands as she watched the struggle between security programs and Phantom. 

"Stupid programs," Phantom growled, his voice rumbling with darkness as he scowled at his captors. "I don't want to hurt you, but if you don't release me now, then you leave me no choice."

"I'm afraid we can't do that, child," Walker said in that stiff tone of a person looking down on another. His green eyes narrowed in his skeletal face, grim satisfaction in his expression at his victory of capturing a long sought after prey. "You've been enemy number one for years. We're going to take you in, whether you come quietly or not."

"I choose not." Sparks of white energy raced over the chains binding Phantom to the programs designed to look like police, each one with the same annoyingly identical appearance. They screamed as the electrical surge fried their insides before they collapsed to the ground. The chains loosened around him, and Phantom pulled them free from his body with a cold smirk. Plenty more guards stood at the ready to take the place of their fallen comrades and secure the rogue program.

The scythe appeared almost instantly in Phantom's hands again as he glared down the security programs. Ember tried to make herself move, knowing that the moment he was finished with them, Phantom would return to finish what he started with her. But it was like her legs melted into the ground of the NetZone, her body refusing to obey her commands. She could get away now while he was distracted, but her mind failed her, blanking on how to do the simplest of things, like getting to her feet.

Translucent blue walls crashed down around Phantom, nearly startling a scream out of Ember from the shock of the event and from how close one of the walls slammed into the ground before her and Skulker's body. The sound of their impact echoed for several long, drawn out moments as they all stared in surprise at the walls confining the rogue program. Phantom's red eyes swept around, taking in his prison, and he ground his teeth, lips pulling back to show off sharp fangs. He swiped his scythe at a wall, but the blade met with resistance, unable to slash his way through it.

A frown drew upon his face as he stood up straighter and allowed his weapon to vanish. Brow set in deep concentration, Phantom slowly called up energy around his hands. When the binary coding shattered away, large gauntlets covered his hands, looking about five times too large on him. He pulled back one fist then slammed it forward into the wall. A shudder shook the area as cracks appeared in the wall, but they quickly repaired themselves. Phantom punched it again and again, but the walls recovered too quickly for him to break free. Cold dread filled her as Ember feared what would happen if and when Phantom finally got free of that mysterious cage.


	54. Chapter 54

He knew something was wrong. It wasn't unusual for Daniel to let his temper get the better of him. That much the young man demonstrated quite well upon their first meeting. But there was something different this time. The rage burning in his eyes when he demanded the virus be found immediately worried Vlad. Daniel's focus on finding the virus was - Vlad didn't want to say obsessive, but he feared it was beginning to border on that notion.

Daniel always seemed to have decent control over his powers. At least, from what he saw, Vlad never witnessed him lose control of them. Even when he was very angry with Vlad, Daniel managed to not to let any signs slip, stopping his eyes from flashing bright green with rage. But this time, during his temper, Daniel's eyes flashed dangerously, and Vlad was almost positive that he saw a shift in color from the usual green. That flare of electricity and unrestrained display of strength only added to the break in character from what Vlad knew of the man.

The sound of a whimper drew Vlad away from his ponderings. He lowered his gaze to find Cujo curled up under the desk, hiding in the shadows. His mouth thinned with the certainty that something was definitely wrong here. Cujo had displayed great affection for the young man, after the mishap of Daniel attempting to break into his domain was cleared up, of course. The dog always seemed quite eager to tag along with the man. The fact that he remained behind when Daniel left proved that something was happening to the man, and even the security program was troubled by it.

"Come out here," Vlad instructed in a gentle tone, scooting back and gesturing for the dog to leave his hiding place. Cujo whined but eventually crawled out from under the desk and hopped into the man's lap. "Let me see what you've gathered." Taking the tag on the dog's collar in his hand, Vlad accessed the surveillance feed from the security program.

His expression soured as he reviewed the various screens, detailing the progress of Daniel since Cujo first joined him. There were fluctuations both times he was infected by that Guys in White rogue virus, but the damage was quickly removed both times. Thankfully, Daniel came to him right away after the first incident, though he almost walked away still infected, and the second time he already pretty much mastered the ability to repair his damaged coding. Everything looked fine until Vlad stared at the data from Saturday. A bizarre surge was indicated by what Cujo gathered from Daniel, but it appeared to vanished almost immediately afterward. Then after Saturday, something started to change within the coding, a mutation of sorts slowly corrupting Daniel's digital half. It was so subtle that it was easy to miss if he wasn't looking closely for the change.

For the first time in years, Vlad had that strong urge to kick himself for not seeing that there was something wrong with the man sooner. He was concerned when he went to the man's home and discovered Daniel was sick. In his years before his collapse, Vlad couldn't recall falling ill after the accident that gave him his powers. That could have merely been because he took great care of his body. He never considered any idea that his digital makeup might give him an immunity to human illness, so he never thought to link Daniel's cold with a possible infection to his coding.

His concern came from affection for the man. He tried to deny it when the thought first started to wiggle its way into his mind as that whisper of Daniel being cute echoed inside him. But the man was like his father, somehow managing to worm his way into Vlad's life, yet far more like his mother, Daniel weaseled unexpectedly into his heart. Denial could only go on for so long before Vlad finally had to admit to himself that his care for the man went beyond simply taking Daniel in as a student to teach him about his skills. Asking about Daniel's interests, taking him up to the satellite, wasn't simply to better understand the man and gain his trust. The startling revelation hit him that those actions were because he truly wished to know more about Daniel, wanted to impress him and see that look of awe and wonder when the man got to see the Earth from space.

Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts, Vlad sped through the NetZone after taking a page from Daniel and crafting a means of quicker transportation. Time was of the essence right now, and he couldn't waste it on beating himself up for being a fool and straying into emotions that he long since gave up the dream of having someone return. His feelings would hardly matter if Daniel's transformation into - Vlad wasn't entirely sure what that infection did to the man, but whatever happened to Daniel, Vlad doubted the man would return any type of feeling, romantic or otherwise, in that state. He pushed his motorcycle to go faster, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of destruction wrought by the altered Phantom.

A crackle sounded by his ear, and Vlad reached up and touched it quickly before returning his focus back to driving and making sure he didn't crash into anything. "What?" he demanded in a harsher tone than he meant.

"Oh, I got through," the man said, startled as some hesitancy entered his voice. Vlad recognized it as the man that he left the instructions with after he reached the football field at Casper High. When he saw what was happening to Daniel, he rushed toward the school, deciding that tracking down the Guys in White's virus could wait until Daniel was safe. But it was too late by the time he arrived there, tracking Daniel's location down to the field and arriving moments after the man fled the scene.

Vlad, of course, knew exactly who the man was, having done some background research into Daniel's life. Tucker Foley was Daniel's best friend since they were small children and had a passion for technology. Keeping their secret of being digital beings was of vital importance, especially with Daniel's parents' work in researching viruses and the NetZone and the Guys in White constantly making a mess of things. But saving Daniel _right now_ took precedence over maintaining their secret. Daniel's friends must have some understanding of the severity of what was happening.

"Uh," Tucker continued and swallowed, his gulp coming through over their connection, "we've located Phantom. Er, though I guess he's calling himself EXEcutioner now." Some misery sneaked into his voice. "Anyway, we've got him locked down in a section of the NetZone. Um-"

"South sector," another man said, taking over when Tucker failed to continue, "fourteen Zeta B nine. It looks like it's kind of in a dark spot of the NetZone. Not really much there except this blip of something."

"I was getting to that," Tucker grumbled. "We've got him contained, but, uh, well, that might not hold for long. He's attacking the walls we've put up, and we're working as fast as we can to repair the damage before he can escape, but we're not exactly in the greatest computer lab in the world. The computer's are kind of outdated with all the new models that keep coming out. So if you can get to him soon, that would be great."

"Try to keep the walls up as long as you can," Vlad instructed, steering his motorcycle in the direction of the location they gave him, thankful that it was in a fairly unconstructed section of the NetZone. That meant he wouldn't have to worry too much about evacuating any digital beings in case things turned violent. "I'll be there soon." He shut off the line as the engine revved loudly and the wheels squealed against the ground. The world sped past him in a blur, but it didn't seem to go by fast enough for him. He needed to get to Daniel _now_.

He saw the walls in the distance, the bright blue of the translucent structure reaching toward what appeared as the sky of the NetZone. When he got closer, Vlad frowned at the gathering of security programs, his red eyes narrowing at one in particular that he recognized among their numbers. The Guys in White already provided enough problems with that rogue virus they allowed to escape and target Daniel. Vlad wasn't going to allow the pathetic organization to get their hands on Daniel. Teeth grinding painfully, he pushed the motorcycle forward toward the programs, who scattered to avoid being run over. He came to a screeching stop right in front of the tall, skeletal like program.

Walker's green eyes narrowed at him as Vlad rose from the motorcycle, allowing it to melt away into nothing. "Go back to where you came from program," the head security program ordered in a crisp, stern voice. "We've got this area in lock down until we've managed to contain the dangerous virus."

"I believe _I'm_ the one that has him contained," Vlad argued, turning his gaze toward the walls. He swallowed back his fears when he saw Daniel, the rage upon his familiar face that looked entirely different with the flaming hair and red eyes. Daniel shouted as he assaulted the wall, slamming large gauntlet covered fists into the blue energy with enough force to crack it. Tucker, and his friend, were doing a fairly good job keeping up with the damage, but it wouldn't be long before Daniel managed to break his way out of this confinement. "I suggest you take your goons and leave before it's too late." He lifted an arm, his red bladed sword appearing at once in his hand as he pressed the blade to the warden's throat.

"Threatening the head of the Guys in White's NetZone security?" Walker snorted, unimpressed with Vlad's show. "I'm sure we have room for a lawbreaker like you in our cells."

"I thought I heard the voice of an idiot out here."

Vlad sneaked a quick glance at the new speaker before focusing back on the program before him. The red eyes of the newcomer were a storm of fury as they glared at Walker. Vlad couldn't recall seeing a program like this one with its pitch black body that was dotted with almost as many stars as the night sky.

"So this is where you've hidden away, Nocturne," Walker said with a cold smirk. "Looks like it's my luck day. I'll snag that nuisance Phantom, two viruses, an odd program," his eyes narrowed at Vlad, "and our escaped pet. I'm sure you'd love to be reunited with your disgusting virus. But," cruelness spread into his expression, "you'll find Vortex to be a much different virus than you remember."

The comment gained an immediate reaction. The purple horned program shot past Vlad, pushing him back as Nocturne rose up to loom over Walker. "It was stupid for you to appear before me again, Walker," he said, the dangerous hint in his voice making even Vlad not want to tangle with him. Something clearly happened between these two in the past. "You'll find," he waved an arm and a fine mist wafted through the air where it passed, "I'm a much different program as well. I haven't simply been sitting idle all this time."

Vlad watched, with some concern, as the black mist touched Walker and the other security programs closest to him. Their eyes dulled, slipping half shut as their bodies relaxed. They appeared to fall into some sort of trance. Vlad questioned how a mere program ended up with a mind controlling ability, but at the moment, he was thankful for it since he wouldn't have to waste time fighting off Walker and his goons now.

"I don't know what's happened to Phantom," Nocturne said, not even looking toward Vlad, "and honestly I don't care about the brat. I've waited far too long to get my revenge on Walker. So this is where I shall take my leave." His body dissolved into a cloud that spread out to touch every single one of the security programs, placing them all under his spell. Their movements were jerky as they turned and marched away from the area.

A small part of the tension melted from his body at their departing forms. When this was all over, Vlad would have to track down that program and offer his thanks for his help in this situation. Though it seemed Nocturne was happy enough to get his revenge at long last. The rumbling crash of noise brought Vlad's attention back to his immediate problem. When he turned around, their red eyes locked with each other, Daniel's glowering darkly at him.

"This cage won't stop me for long," Daniel growled, pressing white gloved hands to the translucent blue of the wall before him like he was testing for a weakness. "And when I break out, I'll finish off all the viruses."

"Daniel, this isn't you." Vlad stepped closer until the wall was the only thing standing between them.

"But," Daniel put a finger to his mouth, looking ponderous for a moment, "isn't it?" He spread his arms wide with a wicked smirk slipping onto his face. "All I've ever done is protect the NetZone from virus attacks. How is tracking them down and destroying them before they can destroy the NetZone that much different?"

Vlad's attention strayed for a moment, catching sight of something behind Daniel. "Because you're not cruel." His eyes remained on Daniel as he circled around the prison, and the man paced him with annoyance in his expression. "You have a temper, so does everyone else. But seeking out viruses that haven't done anything yet? That's not like you at all."

"Why should I wait for them to attack? It's better if I stop them before they get the chance."

Vlad frowned at the logic. Many users would probably be happy if viruses could be stopped before they could attack and cause damage to their computers, corrupt data, steal it away for hackers to utilize. But viruses were living entities that developed their own personalities in much the same way as a human. They couldn't help the way their creators programmed them. Vlad didn't condone their actions, but if they were merely existing within the NetZone, forgotten by their users, that hardly meant they deserved total eradication from the NetZone.

His eyes broke away from the stare down with Daniel as Vlad glanced toward the pair on the ground. He recognized the female virus as the one that attacked at the football game. The flames of her blue hair barely flicked upon her head, like her sorrow doused them. She knelt beside the gruesome body of another virus, too badly damaged for Vlad to even make a guess at whom it could be.

"If you can move, I suggest you get out of here," Vlad warned her.

"Don't go too far," Daniel said, his eyes glowing dangerously as he grinned. "When I get out of here, I'm going to track you down first."

"Just go!" Vlad shouted.

The female virus jolted into action at that order. She grabbed the severed limb before snaking her arms around the body of her fellow virus. Vlad waited until she dragged him off for some distance before turning his gaze back onto Daniel.

"Why are you even bothering with this?" Daniel questioned, his mouth pressing into a tight line as his fingers curled, clawing against the barrier before him. "I always wanted this power, and now I can finally rid the NetZone of viruses. This is going to make my life _so_ much easier."

Vlad frowned as he eyed the man before him, wild red eyes with fierce determination to accomplish his goal. It was like staring into a mirror, a reflection of his younger days when his obsession with Maddie drove to devise a multitude of schemes to kill Jack and win Maddie. They were dark days where living was merely going through the motions while his thoughts circled only around the woman he claimed to love. Though now he knew love wasn't what he felt for her, not the love he sought anyway.

"You're wrong, Daniel." Vlad shook his head, trying to think of some way to reach inside and draw out the real Daniel. "You've been corrupted. This drive you have to destroy viruses is consuming you. But what happens after you've accomplished that goal? It won't satisfy you. You'll still feel that need to destroy. You'll attack programs next. You'll wreck havoc upon the NetZone until everything is destroyed. And when that isn't enough, you'll turn to the real world. You have to stop this now."

Daniel stared for a moment before a laugh bubbled out of him. "Did you think that would work?" His arms wrapped around his waist as he threw back his head and laughed, the sound echoing within the confines of his prison. "It's a cute speech," he dropped his gaze back to Vlad, "but I'm perfectly content with this new power." He drew back a fist then slammed it forward. The crashing sound of the cracking wall filled the air, and Vlad jumped back out of the way as it came down in a rain of sparkling blue. Daniel finally stepped free from the blue cell.

"Daniel, stop for a moment and think about this." Vlad's expression remained neutral as the man abandoned the heavy gauntlets in favor of the scythe he first crafted when deciding on a weapon.

"Think about what exactly?" Daniel shouldered his scythe and tilted his head to one side. "About wasting the last three years in what I thought was a hopeless struggle against viruses? About how I could have had all that time to actually study and get good grades instead of running around fighting them? About how I've always had to ditch out on my friends and miss out on a lot of my life these past three years when I could have had this power before?" He stepped up, leaning his head in so that their faces were inches away. His red eyes stared into Vlad's eyes as his lips stretched wide in a grin. "And you can stop calling me Daniel now. It's EXEcutioner." He chuckled. "You're the one that told me that living in the real world was killing me. Well," he leaned back but still remained uncomfortably close, "now I'm a permanent resident of the NetZone."

When Daniel, he refused to recognize the new name the man chose for himself, turned away, Vlad grabbed hold of his arm to stop him. Daniel swung the scythe at him, but Vlad caught his wrist, stopping him before the blade could cut into him. "Daniel," Vlad growled as they played a game of strength, Daniel still trying to slice him in half with the scythe while Vlad struggled to stop him. "I know what I said before. I know I told you that you were mostly a digital being now. I wrote off my human half a long time ago because of what happened to me."

"And you believe it will happen to me too." Daniel ground his teeth in his continued attempt to cut down the man before him. "So why shouldn't I just give up my human side now?" His eyes narrowed as he abandoned the scythe.

"Because," Vlad erected a shield to block the energy ball fired at him, "you're," he yanked on the arm he still held, dragging Daniel toward him, "still," he ducked when Daniel tried to punch him, "human!" He twisted the man around, holding Daniel's arms crossed over his chest as he held the man close. "You're not just some program. You're something more. You can accomplish things that nothing else on the NetZone can. You don't _need_ this power if it means losing yourself. I know the human side of you is still there, and I know you can overcome this. You did it before when the EMP hit the school. You can do it again now."

Daniel laughed bitterly as he struggled to free himself from Vlad's hold. "Maybe I don't want to overcome this. Did you not think of that? What makes you think my so-called human half will put up the fight?"

"Because I believe in your human half." Vlad squeezed his arms around Daniel as he pressed his forehead to the back of the man's neck. "Because I know your human half is stronger than this. You're not the type to give up like this, Daniel. You're a fighter. You can overcome this. I know you will."

"Why?" There was a broken hint bleeding into harsh, angry tone. "Why do you believe so much in my human side?"

Vlad gritted his teeth, wondering what he had to do to finally get through the man's thick skull. Keeping a tight hold on the man's wrists, Vlad spun Daniel around and caught a hint of green in those furious red eyes. He pulled the man against him and crushed their mouths together before Daniel could work up any protest against the action. Daniel fought him, struggling to pull away, to twist his arms free, but the tension slowly melted from his body, relaxing into the sudden kiss. What possessed him into the desperate act, Vlad couldn't say, but when he pulled back, he was relieved to see the familiar brilliant green eyes staring back at him in a startled expression.

"Vlad," Daniel mumbled, blinking several times. Then suddenly, he gave the man a hard shove, turning away as he grabbed at his head, still with the white flames flickering.

"Daniel," Vlad shouted in alarm, reaching for the man.

"I'm not!" Daniel slapped the hand away. "I can't - Argh!" Daniel collapsed to his knees, clutching at his head as he shouted in pain. Sparks leaped across his body, crackling in the air.

No thoughts raced through his head as Vlad dropped down beside the man, drawing Daniel into a tight embrace, hugging him from behind despite any struggles and ignoring the pain of the electricity zapping at him. Worry gripped him like a hand squeezing around his heart, not understanding what was happening at that moment.

"Vlad, I-" Daniel's voice sounded hoarse from shouting, and he twisted his head around, meeting Vlad's gaze with frightened eyes in a bizarre mixture of red and green. "It's-"

His body jerked in Vlad's arms, and Daniel tried to curl up in a tight ball as a scream ripped from his throat. The horrible sound rocked the area, the loudness making Vlad wince as his eardrums felt close to rupturing at the terrible onslaught. Over that noise, he couldn't hear the sound of the ground cracking, only coming to notice the danger when the ground shifted beneath them.

"Daniel!" Vlad shook the man in a panic. "Get a hold of yourself!" But his voice was drowned out by the massive vocal attack, if it could be called that, that was destroying the area around them. Vlad held on tight to the man, trying to drag him up as he climbed to his feet. But Daniel wouldn't be budged from where he knelt. "Dan-"

The explosion of white blinded him as pain seared every nerve ending in his body. Vlad screamed, or thought he did since he couldn't hear anything beyond a high pitched ringing in his ears. Darkness ate away at the whiteness as that freefalling sensation tugged at his consciousness. Falling? But the only thing below the ground level of the NetZone was-

The under level! Panic woke him from that painful sense of lethargy. Vlad ordered his body to move, forced his energy to materialize as shields beneath him and stop his descent, but his body refused to listen to his orders. Everything felt sluggish, his eyes slipping halfway shut as the dark oblivion drowned that sense of fear coiled tightly in his chest. A gloved hand reaching out to him was the last thing he saw as the ticking of a clock echoed and followed into his sleep.


	55. Chapter 55

"All right," Dash said, pacing the room. "Thanks. Let us know if you hear anything else." He pulled his cell phone away from his ear as he ended the call. Biting the inside of his cheek, he stared at the phone as the worry built up inside him. Seeing Valerie laying on the ground like that, not moving and looking like she wasn't even breathing, was a terrifying moment. Seeing Phantom transform into someone else right before his eyes only made it all seem worse. His hand squeezed tightly around his phone, knowing those images would be forever etched in his memory. Time might dull the details for the others, but he would always have the images perfectly remembered. It was one of the things he hated about having a photographic memory.

"Was that Paulina?"

Dash lifted his head, turning his gaze onto the Goth beside him, and he joined her in leaning against the desks in the computer laboratory. Then his blue eyes drifted over to where Kwan and Foley were typing in a rapid frenzy at the computers. Listening to them speak was like trying to watch a foreign film with no subtitles in a language he never studied. He could barely catch anything they were saying, but they seemed to work in perfect harmony as they struggled to keep Phantom, or EXEcutioner as he was calling himself, contained until that mysterious digital entity could arrive and do who knew what to save Phantom. Dash prayed that whoever that man was he could save Phantom because this transformed version of him unsettled the jock when he recalled the crazed look in those red eyes and the maniacal grin upon his face.

"Yeah," Dash answered as he shoved his phone into his pocket. "She said that the doctors are looking at Valerie now and they said she should be all right, but they aren't filling her in on any exact details. That whole she's not family so they can't release information to her or whatever deal they've got at the hospital."

"As long as she's going to be okay," Manson said quietly, lowering her violet gaze. "And it's good that Paulina's there with her. It'll be good if she wakes up and sees a friendly face."

Dash reached up and raked a hand through his blond hair. "This is so weird." He shook his head as a breathy chuckle bubbled out of him. "I never would have thought that you would care about Paulina and Valerie."

"They're not-" Manson shook her head that look of disbelief playing across her face like she couldn't believe it herself. "I think all of us probably could have been good friends all these years," she turned to stare at the jock, "if we had simply put aside stupid labels. A list. Loser. What do those labels really matter? Those labels don't fully define who we are. And," she sighed, reaching up to push a lock of her ebony hair behind an ear, "I think our first impressions of each other were all wrong. Paulina isn't the snobby bitch I thought she was, and Valerie is an amazing fighter."

Dash frowned, having to admit that Manson was right. He had a poor impression of the three friends when they entered high school. Fenton seemed like a dorky loser that came from a family of crazies. Foley was a techno geek whose love for technology bordered slightly on creepy. Manson was the freaky Goth chick that antagonized the A list and found something in the school to protest almost every week. But if he never looked beyond that surface impression, Dash might not have seen Fenton as a good guy and someone that he could actually like.

But something as he listened to Manson wiggled into his mind and nagged at him. "What was Valerie even doing there?" he wondered out loud. His brow pinched as he turned back to Manson. "I mean, I know how good a fighter she is. We all used to watch her matches before high school. But she can't fight against viruses. Not like Phantom." A frown pulled at his face when Manson turned her head, rubbing at her neck in that way that suggested she knew something. "Okay. Spill the beans."

"She probably wouldn't want me to say anything."

"She's my friend. If you know something, tell me." Frustration dug its claws into the jock when the Goth remained silent. "Look. If I knew something about one of your friends and you were worried about him, wouldn't you want me tell you? I know it would be a major betrayal of trust to tell me what you know about Valerie, but if it's something that could land her in a lot of trouble, I want to know what it is."

Manson took a deep breath and released it slowly. "The reason Valerie was there is because she's been fighting viruses for a while. She has this suit thing and these weapons that allows her to fight them. I thought it was really cool. I mean, if I had a suit and weapons like that, I could fight alongside Phantom to stop the viruses. I guess I saw it just as, you know, a game. I'd get to run around and be a hero, and it sounds really cool when you say it." She frowned, her eyes dimming as they lowered to the ground. "But seeing Valerie laying there, I realized just how real it is. Each time she used the suit and fought the viruses, she was putting herself in danger. I saw her and Phantom fighting earlier, and it was an endless battle with the viruses picking themselves up and continuing to attack. If she didn't pay enough attention, if Phantom wasn't there to watch her back, she could have gotten seriously hurt."

"She's going to be all right." Dash patted Manson on the shoulder, and it felt strange to offer her comfort after years of butting heads with each other. But her words resonated inside him. He would lie if he said he never had those thoughts of wishing he could be some sort of superhero. When Phantom first appeared, Dash had thoughts like Manson. The idea of being able to help Phantom attracted him, but he wasn't tech smart like Kwan or Foley. He didn't have weapons that would allow him to aid Phantom in a fight.

"Shit!" Kwan cursed as he and Foley backed away from the computers at which they were working. The computers were lightly smoking, their screens going crazy as they displayed random, glitchy patterns before turning completely black.

"What happened?" Manson questioned as she pushed away from the desk.

"Well, we had Phantom contained," Foley explained, rubbing at his neck. "But he managed to break out, and whatever he did to do it pretty much fried the computers."

"Plenty other computers to work from." Dash gestured to the whole room full of computers. "Hop on a new one and get cracking. You can't let him escape now."

"I think that guy reached Phantom by now," Foley said as he played with his PDA, the action making Dash frown in frustration because this wasn't the time for the techno geek to be playing. "I keep trying to contact him again, but he seems to have shut off the line. I think that means he's currently dealing with Phantom and doesn't want to be disturbed."

"You were awfully quick to trust that guy." Manson folded her arms as she eyed her friend with suspicion. Dash agreed there was something odd about how Foley didn't even question the man's appearance or why he would want to help Phantom. At the time, he let it slide because they needed to hurry and do something to help Phantom. Now that it was brought up, he wanted answers too.

"What does that matter as long as he helps save Phantom?" Foley looked away, mimicking Manson's earlier telltale sign of knowing something more.

"I'm a bit curious about who that guy was as well." Kwan frowned as he stared at his fellow techno geek. "I'm glad that he wants to help. But who exactly is he?"

"He's just, uh-" Foley was sweating as he tried to think of an explanation. "He's been helping Phantom get stronger."

"It sounds to me like you know a lot more about Phantom than you're letting on." Dash glowered at Foley, who gulped nervously under the jock's gaze.

"Dash, we've only been monitoring Phantom," Kwan said, and his friend turned his skeptical blue eyes onto him. "That's all. We had his data, and we've been tracking it to make sure that nothing bad was happening to him."

"But see," Manson said, no less skeptical than Dash, "that just makes it sound like you know something even more. How were you monitoring his data when you weren't around during his fights? And how do you know anything about the man training him? That guy could have been lying to us back there."

"Because he told me that the guy was training him," Foley argued. Then realizing his error, he smacked a hand to his forehead.

Kwan rolled aqua green eyes to the ceiling as he shook his head at Foley's response to the questioning. "Seriously, you're the worst secret keeper in the world. Remind me never to tell you anything I don't want the whole world knowing."

"Wait. So you've _both_ been talking with Phantom?" Dash demanded as he snapped his eyes between the two men. "When did this happen? How long have you been best buddies with Phantom? Why didn't you ever tell me about this, Kwan?" Hurt flashed through his eyes as he stared at his best friend. It wasn't simply because Kwan kept his hero from him. It was because it was just another thing that Kwan was keeping secret from him, reminding Dash painfully that his friend had this other side to him to which he was oblivious. It left Dash wondering how much more Kwan never told him.

"I promised," Kwan said, dropping miserable eyes to the floor, "not to tell anyone."

"I made him," Foley jumped in, catching that look on the raven haired jock's face. "I'm sure you'd keep any promise you made with Kwan, but I couldn't risk anyone else finding out who Phantom really is."

"Especially after you let it slip out so easily with me," Kwan teased with half a smile.

"You practically had the answer smacking you in the face," Foley protested. "I thought for sure you already knew who he was!"

"Well," Kwan scratched at his head with a frown, "I might have had the answer, but I certainly never would have believed it. It sounded _way_ too impossible."

"Stop with the cryptic talk!" Manson shouted out in frustration. "You might as well just tell us this big secret you know about Phantom because we're just going to keep pestering you until we get answers. And you," she pointed a finger at Foley as she narrowed angry violet eyes, "should have told me about this already."

"I promised Danny I wouldn't." Foley groaned as he dropped his head into a hand and rubbed at his forehead. "He didn't want you knowing because he didn't want you getting caught up in his mess. And he knew you'd never stop bugging him about it and trying to get him to let you help him fight viruses if you knew. He thought he would be protecting you if he didn't tell you anything."

"Why is Danny such an idiot all the time?" Manson looked seconds from trying to rip out her hair in anger and frustration when she learned the truth.

Dash swore his eyes tried to bulge right out of their sockets when he heard Foley's words. His brain suffered from the shock of discovering Phantom's true identity. But how was it even possible for Fenton to be Phantom? Fenton was human! While Phantom was some weird program from the NetZone. If he thought about the two of them, he supposed he could see the similarities in their appearances. But his brain still had trouble accepting the truth. He snapped his gaze toward Kwan, who scratched absently at his cheek.

"Funny, huh?" Kwan chuckled awkwardly. "You've fanned over Phantom the past three years. Then you develop a crush on Fenton. And they turned out to be the same person."

That comment only served to act like a punch to the gut. Not only did he beat up on the man he started to like when he came to the realization that he liked men, but he harassed his hero too. He pictured all the things that he did to Fenton over the last three years and envisioned Phantom in his place. Walking over to the desks, he collapsed into one of the chairs, resting his head in his hands as he tried to wrap his mind around this new knowledge.

Was that the reason Fenton rejected him? Was Fenton afraid that they wouldn't work out because of his secret? Was he worried that being romantically involved with someone might open that person to the risk of being targeted by enemy viruses? Superheroes always worried about endangering those they cared about in comics. Dash glanced toward his friend as a frown reappeared on his face. Or did Fenton know about Kwan liking him and didn't want to stand in Kwan's way of finding happiness when Fenton had no current interest in Dash? He sighed because thinking was giving him a massive headache.

"I'm still shocked that you actually kissed Danny," Manson said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I'm surprised you're not throwing a hissy fit about it," Dash countered with half a glare. Actually, that point really surprised since he always suspected Fenton and Manson would hook up at some point. They always seemed to share those awkward moments that hinted that they were crushing on each other.

Sam shrugged, sadness entering her eyes. "I've been clinging to lingering feelings for him. But if he likes guys now, well, even if he doesn't, it doesn't matter who he likes, but I'm clearly not the one he likes, so I just have to let him go. Time to move on." She nodded like she was trying to convince herself. "I'll never find someone if I always hold out on the thought of Danny being there for me."

_Maybe I should do the same_ , Dash thought absently as he leaned back in the chair. If Fenton _did_ have someone he liked, then Dash might be wasting his time trying to convince the other man to date him. His gaze, once again, drifted toward Kwan, and guilt gnawed at him.

"Well, we've done what we can here, I think," Kwan said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Do you think we can head to the hospital? I want to check on Val."

The agreement was unanimous, all of them concerned for Valerie's well being, though Tucker showed some hesitancy about having to go to the hospital. Dash wished there was more they could do to help Phantom, though if the two techno geeks said they did everything they could, pressuring them to keep trying would be pointless. Another realization smacked him as he stood to follow the others out of the computer lab. If Fenton and Phantom were the same person, then that whole corruption just turned Fenton evil, and that was a terrifying thought to Dash. And if the man couldn't save Phantom, then Fenton would be gone forever. Dash stiffly walked toward the school parking lot with the others, praying even more that the man would save Phantom, and in the process save Fenton.


	56. Chapter 56

"You knew this was coming."

His eyes struggled to open when the distant whisper of voice reached him, but his eyelids felt impossibly heavy. Everything about him hurt, and nothing seemed to respond to his commands.

"I had my suspicions." Both voices sounded familiar, but he was having trouble placing them. "I'm able to see all possible futures, and I can help guide things to the best possible outcome."

"You're not much for giving warning, are you?"

His eyes finally managed to crack open, catching a flash of gold through the narrow slit before it was replaced with a strange greenish glow. Something about it seemed familiar, but his vision was too blurry to make out any specific details. He squinted his eyes, trying to bring things back into focus, but the attempt brought a massive headache pounding at his skull.

"It's not my job to forewarn you of possible dangers. I sent him to you because you provided the best possible outcome, along with giving him the training he would need to better fight viruses."

He managed to turn his head, and his vision swam for a sickeningly dizzy moment that made his stomach churn uncomfortably. After a moment, he could finally make out the other two beings occupying the room. They were both familiar with the purple cloak hiding one of their faces and watches strapped over the gloves and the other man with the horned black hair and red eyes. Clockwork and Vlad. Their names popped into his head, but when he tried to sit, he released a pained shout as he collapsed onto his back again. Simply attempting such movement awoke every nerve in his body to a fiery sensation, and he ground his teeth to the point of cracking to hold back a scream in agony. He clamped his eyes shut, trying to fight back that terrible feeling coursing through every inch of his body. When he managed to open his eyes again, he found both men hovering over him, concern etched into Vlad' expression.

"Try not to move too much just yet, Daniel," Vlad instructed, and after staring at him for several long moments, Danny realized with a sense of dread that half Vlad's face was scarred and his left ear was cleanly sliced from his head.

"What happened to you?" Danny tried to shout in alarm, panic growing in him when he noticed the injuries, but his voice came out barely above a whisper, sounding hoarse and gravelly.

"It's all right. It's already repairing itself." Vlad placed a comforting hand on Danny's bicep. "You'll be back to normal in no time too."

Back to normal? His brow creased as those words replayed in his mind. Danny turned his eyes toward where Vlad's hand rested, and they opened wide, panic surging through him again when he realized his arm below the elbow was missing. "What?" he gasped out, struggling to breathe after that shock hit him.

"Daniel, please remain calm." Vlad squeezed his hand around the bicep he held, worry entering his eyes. "It's already healing. It won't be long before everything's repaired, and it'll be like nothing happened."

"But," Danny turned fearful eyes onto him, "what _did_ happen?" His mind was spinning, trying to put the pieces together, but he couldn't seem to solve the puzzle in his mind. "I remember seeing Valerie get hurt, and I got really mad about that, but I can't remember anything after that."

"That's normal," Clockwork answered, drawing Danny's attention onto him. "The corruption to your digital makeup messed with your memories. When you managed to expel the corruption, violently I might add, from your body, the memories of that time were ripped from you as well. I'm not surprised you're a little disoriented after going through all of that."

"Corrupted?" Danny repeated, but thinking too hard still made his head hurt. Some flicker of an image tried to break through his mind, but it kept slipping through his fingers.

"I believe this is my cue to leave you two alone." A smirk ghosted over Clockwork's face before he left the two of them to talk.

"You're cold was a prelude to the corruption," Vlad explained as he sat down on whatever structure on which Danny rested. It felt soft, at least, about which Danny was happy. "You managed to completely remove the virus Technus implanted into you, but then on Saturday something occurred that started changing your coding. I should have seen it sooner, but I took your cold for only that. Just a simple cold."

"You had no reason to suspect it was anything more," Danny argued, frowning when he saw that miserable, guilty expression on Vlad's face. "As for Saturday," he sighed when he thought about it, "I got hit with one of my parents' inventions when I was showing Tuck and Sam the lab. But I checked! It didn't look like the Data Deleter did anything to me." He frowned. "I guess it was something hidden then? It didn't appear right away and slowly worked its way at corrupting my data." His mind still scrambled to grab hold of that teasing memory during that time when he was corrupted. His brow pinched in deep concentration, and he pushed past the throbbing ache that it caused. "You," he said slowly, eying the man staring down at him, "kissed me."

"You remember that part, huh?" Vlad's gaze slid off to the side, and Danny wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or regret.

"Why?" Danny tried to understand what he recalled, but Vlad's actions confused him. The memory of the kiss, though, made his heart beat just a touch faster, and he fought back to the warmth rushing to his cheeks. Vlad actually _kissed_ him? An immense sense of elation filled him, making him feel lightheaded with happiness, but his confusion cut that feeling short, wondering why Vlad would kiss someone like him.

Vlad stayed silent for some time, struggling with what he needed to say. "Since that time I collapsed and thought I was dying, I've cut myself off from the world," he explained, running a hand over his scarred face that was slowly returning to its normal appearance. "I gave up on the idea of winning Maddie." He laughed with some bitterness. "I gave up on the very idea that I would ever have love in my life. It was easier to pretend that I didn't have a human side instead of falling into that despair of anger and loneliness. Then you came into my life." He turned his eyes onto Danny, who couldn't identify the mix of emotions swirling in the red eyes watching him. "You woke me up from that numbed state I'd been living in and made me feel something for the first time. Even if it was initially anger."

"You can't love me," Danny blurted out, his heart beating faster with the suspicion that that was where Vlad's speech was heading. He felt excited by the prospect yet terrified at the same time. How - _Why_ would Vlad like him?

Vlad blinked, stunned by the little outburst. Then a smirk spread onto his face as he placed one hand next to Danny's head and leaned down close, so close that Danny's heart practically leaped into his throat. "Why not?" The teasing gleam in Vlad's eyes only served to make Danny squirm beneath him. "You're attractive, intelligent, a good sparring partner." His mouth came dangerously close to brushing over Danny's lips as he listed out those points. "Love doesn't always come with deep philosophical meaning, Daniel. Sometimes it just happens without you even realizing it."

"But-"

"Tell me," Vlad cut him off with a searching look in his eyes. "If you tell me you have no feelings for me, I'll back off."

Danny could almost see the hurt being push back in Vlad's eyes, and he realized how hard that must be for the man after Vlad failed to find love with Maddie. But being put on the spot like that made him blush darkly and turn his gaze away. The feelings he had were still all so new to him, especially when they were for another man and one that was so much older than he. "I-" Danny bit his lip, clamping his eyes shut for a moment before opening them again to meet with Vlad's gaze. "I think I could love you."

It wasn't a smirk but a true smile that crept onto Vlad's face this time, and Danny really liked seeing it, his heart skipping when Vlad gave him a smile like that. Vlad closed that minute distance, sealing their lips together, and Danny let his eyes slip shut as he enjoyed the kiss.

"I do hope you don't plan to take this any further just yet," Clockwork said, and his voice never sounded more irritating than in that moment. "Your bodies are still recovering and certainly not ready for that type of physical activity."

Vlad pulled back, breathing out a sigh that washed over Danny's face, flushed with a dark blush. "I suppose he does have a point."

When Vlad started to get up, Danny reached out with his other arm, the one that was still intact, and grabbed hold of him. "Um," he mumbled, turning his gaze away out of embarrassment. "Stay?"

Vlad smiled as he nudged Danny over then joined him in laying down beside him. With his good arm, Danny took hold of Vlad's hand and squeezed it tightly as he closed his eyes. His body still felt exhausted from everything that happened and the healing process of growing back an entire arm. He was lulled back to sleep before he even knew it.

 

He still felt like shit as he stared at the numbers lighting up above the elevator doors. His legs were shaky beneath him, and he had to lean back against the elevator to keep from simply dropping to the floor. Vlad suggested he stay for a while longer in the NetZone until he was fully recovered, but Danny wanted - needed, actually - to visit the hospital and check on Valerie. He recalled what happened to her with a violent jolt, and Vlad nearly had to smack him in the face to calm his panicking, reminding him that she would probably be taken to the hospital to be treated. That, at least, brought some relief to him, but he still needed to check on her and see with his own eyes that she was all right.

The elevator stopped with a jerk, and the doors slid open. With some effort, Danny pushed himself away from the wall and wobbled as he stepped out of the elevator. He walked down the hall, looking for the room number that the woman at the front desk told him when he asked to see Valerie Gray. When he reached the room, he paused, blinking as he stared at the two women sitting outside the door.

Sam lifted her head, and her violet eyes filled with happiness and relief to see him. "Danny!" she whispered so as not to disturb the woman sleeping with her head in Sam's lap. Danny was at loss for words when he saw Paulina like that, his brow pinching together as he stared inquisitively at his friend. "She's been worrying herself sick ever since that attack," Sam explained with a shrug, and when he looked closer, Danny could see the tiredness in Paulina and the faded tracks of tears on her cheeks. "We got to visit with Valerie for a little while, but she needed to rest, so we came out here to wait, and Paulina just pretty much passed out as soon as we sat down."

Danny nodded in understanding then smiled. "It's nice that you two are getting along," he whispered, deciding Paulina definitely could use the rest after the train wreck of emotions she probably went through when she saw Valerie laying on the ground unconscious. "What did the doctors say about Valerie?"

"She's going to be fine. They want to keep her here for a day or so just to be certain, but she seemed perfectly fine when we were talking with her. She's a bit shaken up, but that's not surprising." Sam frowned as she looked off to the side before turning back to him. "I just want you to know, Danny, that I never meant to drive you into lying to us about you. I just wanted to be able to help in some way, but I guess my enthusiasm didn't help matters. I get it now though, after seeing what happened with Valerie and you. What you do isn't a game. I guess I just looked at the glamorous side of the whole hero thing, and I didn't look too hard at the bad part of it. The part where you could get seriously hurt or even be killed doing what you do. I'd still like to help, but I get it now why you tried to keep Tucker and me out this part of your life."

Danny rubbed at his face with a hand, thankful that his arm fully repaired itself before he left the NetZone. "Tucker told you?" He sighed as a new wave of exhaustion hit him. "I guess with what happened I can't really blame him for spilling the beans. I'm sorry I kept it from you. I just," he shrugged awkwardly, "didn't want you getting hurt because of me."

"I know, Danny." Sam offered a small smile. "It hurts that you didn't tell me, but I get it."

"F-Fenton!"

The two friends turned when they heard the surprised exclamation. Danny blinked when he saw Dash walking toward them. "Oh, uh, hi, Dash," Danny said awkwardly, rubbing at his neck as he looked away. "Here to check on Valerie too?"

"Uh, yeah." Dash wore an odd expression before he glanced at Sam.

"She's sleeping, but we might have a chance to see her again before visiting hours are over," Sam said, and the jock nodded at her answer.

"Um, can we talk, Fenton?" 

Danny watched the shifting of the jock's weight and frowned, but he nodded and followed Dash down the hall. They walked in silence for some time before they came to the open waiting area. No one else was there at the time, giving them the ability to speak in private. Danny thankfully took a seat, collapsing into one of the chairs that at least had some padding that made it less uncomfortable. His legs were happy not having to support his body for the moment.

"I'm really glad to see you're all right," Dash started as he sat down next to him. "You had us all pretty freaked out when you suddenly went all fiery hair and calling yourself the EXEcutioner."

The color drained from his face. "Wait. You know too? How many people did Tucker blab my secret too?" Danny dropped his head in his hands, groaning at how quickly everyone was finding out his secret. Lifting his head, he jerked his gaze back to Dash. "EXEcutioner? Ugh, great! I have my dad's bad sense in naming things."

Dash chuckled. "Well, if I had any doubts, I think that at least proves you're back to normal." He threw on a grin, and Danny felt a little more at ease around him. "Yeah, well, don't be too hard on him. We would have kept pressuring him until he broke down and told us. Though it seems Kwan already knew. Not sure for how long, but they were working together to keep tabs on you. But they figured out about the whole corruption thing too late."

Danny frowned as he lowered his gaze. "I should have stopped and listened to Tucker. I was so busy trying to be the hero that I didn't stop to think that what he had to say might actually be really important."

"Everyone makes mistakes. I'm just glad this one didn't cost you to lose yourself entirely."

"Dash, I-"

"Ah, there you are!"

Both men turned their heads to see a young blonde girl walking over to them. Her twin tails tied with blue ribbons trailed behind her. She smiled as she dropped into the seat next to Dash.

"I thought I'd find you at Val's room, but the weird Goth girl said you came down this way."

"Ah, yeah, we were just talking," Dash said as he leaned back in the chair. "This is Fenton. Fenton, this is my sister Lily."

"It's nice to meet you, Lily," Danny said with a smile. He recognized her from the time he spied into Dash's bedroom, which felt like it happened ages ago after everything that happened.

Lily pursed her lips, tilting her head as her nose scrunched up. "Well, he's okay. I mean, he's kind of cute. But," she turned her gaze back onto her brother, "I still say Kwan's the better choice for you."

"You too, huh?" Danny chuckled when the girl blinked at him. "I kind of thought Kwan liked this bonehead." He pointed a thumb at Dash, who frowned as the two talked like he wasn't even there.

"Such a bone head," Lily agreed, rolling her eyes at her brother. Then she leaned across Dash. "But why are you whispering like that?" she questioned in a quiet voice.

"Oh," Danny reached up to place a hand to his throat, "I'm still recovering from being sick, and my throat still hurts a bit."

"Did you want something, Tails?" Dash interrupted, tugging on one blonde pigtail.

"Are you never going to stop calling me that?" Lily pouted as she yanked her hair free from his hold. Then her cheeks turned pink as she played with her hair. "Well, Jeremy said it was okay with his parents if he came over to visit today. And since you're already here, I figured I'd just ask you about it instead of bugging Mom and Dad."

"And what do you two plan to do together?" Dash frowned at the girl, putting on an expression that Danny could only think to describe as "big brother protectiveness."

"Nothing bad," Lily replied, reddened cheeks puffing out as she glared at her brother. "I wanted to show him my art since he wanted to see it after I mentioned it. So you can get your head out of the gutter." Danny bit his tongue to keep from chuckling at their interaction.

Dash sighed out dramatically. "Well, I suppose that would be okay. But you're not to be alone with him in your room. You can show him your art in the front room. And don't argue with me on that." He stared sternly at her as he folded his arms.

"Sometimes you're really annoying," Lily grumbled with a frown. Then she hugged him before she hopped to her feet. "We'll be waiting in his room whenever you're ready to go."

"She seems nice," Danny said when they were alone again. "How come I've never seen her before?"

Dash frowned as he threaded his fingers through his hair. "She's been in and out of the hospital pretty much all her life, and my parents have kept her pretty much to a sheltered life. They're just worried about her. I mean, I am too. I don't want her getting hurt. She's never really complained about it though." He shrugged. "And since you're probably going to ask, she has a terminal illness. It's actually a miracle she's survived this long. The first doctor predicted she wouldn't live past seven. It's been kind of a rollercoaster with her, and we never know if the next time we have to take her to the hospital will be the last," he hesitated, and Danny could see the pain and sorrow in his dark blue eyes, "time."

Danny chewed on his lower lip as a thought turned in his mind. "You know, um, well, I'm not the greatest at the computer stuff, but Vlad knows a lot about it." He reached up and scratched at his head. "What I'm saying is, we could maybe, like, make a digital copy of her. It obviously wouldn't be the same, and the real her would die, but you'd still have a way to keep a part of her alive."

Dash stared at him for the longest time, and Danny shrank in his seat, fearful that the jock was about explode at him. "I get that you want to help," he said after a while and sighed. "I've wished a thousand times over the years that there would be some magic cure for her. It's a nice offer, but I can't." He shook his head. "It wouldn't be her. My parents and I, we've known Lily's time is going to be short. Lily knows it as well. We've all been preparing ourselves for that day." He leaned forward, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. "But it's still going to hurt like hell. I can't imagine her not being in my life one day. I don't even want to think about it even though I know it's going to happen."

Danny honestly couldn't think of any words of comfort to give him. He rested a hand on Dash's shoulder, squeezing it. "I really wish there was something I could do. I wish these powers I had could save her, but," Danny hung his head miserably, "they don't work that way." He wished there was something he could do for Dash. He never imagined Dash walked around with that type of burden over his head. Simply thinking about Jazz having some terminal illness that could kill her at any moment tore at Danny's heart. They sat there for quite some time in silence with Danny's hand still placed on Dash's shoulder.

 

"Let us in! Let us in!" Kwan and Danny cried together as they pretended to pound their fists on the in visible door.

Dash sat back like he was lounging in a comfortable house. "What's that?" He put a hand to his ear. "I thought I heard my dear old friends crying for me to let them in. But surely that can't be. They were _so_ certain," he rolled his eyes, "that they built the best homes. Why would they need to come crying to me?" Some of the children in the audience giggled at Dash's exaggerated speech.

"Please let us in!" Kwan called. "The wolf came, and she huffed and she puffed, and she blew down my house of a straw."

"We beg of you. Let us in!" Danny pleaded. "The wolf huffed and she puffed, and she blew down my house of sticks."

Dash rolled his eyes again and grinned at the children in the audience. "I don't know. Should I let them in?"

"Yes!" the children answered loudly.

Dash got to his feet and walked over then pretended to unlock and open the door to his house. "I told you those houses wouldn't stand." He ushered the other two in his house and closed and locked the door. "You should have listened to my advice." He placed his hands on his hips and gave them a stern look.

"We're sorry! We should have listened," Kwan said, looking shamed by Dash's words.

"We didn't think the wolf would blow down our houses." Danny hung his head.

A moment later, Paulina appeared on stage, and she pounded her fist on the invisible door. "Come out, you little pigs," she shouted. "Or I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down!"

The three men exchanged glances before turning toward where Paulina stood. "Not by the hair of our chinny chin chins!" they said together.

Paulina took a step back, pushing up the long sleeves of her furry shirt. She took a deep breath and blew until she was red in the face, but of course, since the house was meant to be made of bricks, she was unable to blow it down like she did with the other two houses. The three men yawned, bored by her display as she tried several times to blow down the house.

"Ugh!" Paulina collapsed onto the floor, winded by her efforts. "I can't blow down this brick house! How did these little pigs outsmart me?"

The three men high fived each other in their victory over the wolf. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?" Danny and Kwan sang together as they hooked their arms together and danced like dorks to the amusement of the children as the curtain closed on them. When they were done, Danny released a relieved sigh.

"I can't believe we're finally done with that," Danny said, following his group off the stage as the next one prepared to put on their performance. "You all were really good." He was even more relieved that he could finally change out of the pink dress. Paulina helped him, unzipping the back so that he could let it fall and pool at his feet.

"You were great too, Danny," Paulina said as she picked up the dress to put it away as the men changed.

Danny tugged on his regular clothes and shoved his feet into his waiting sneakers. "And now we can spend the remainder of the day just relaxing." He stretched his arms over his head, glad they didn't have to return to Casper High and finished out the day sitting in class. There wasn't much time left anyway, only about another hour.

"I agree. Your performance was quite good."

Danny jumped when he heard the familiar voice. Spinning around, he stared wide eyed at Vlad, who chose to adopt a younger appearance that made him look two or three years older than Danny. His hair still had that silvery quality that his older human form had with a slightly lighter color through the center. "W-What are you doing here?" He really hadn't expected the man to come watch the performance, even though he mentioned it to Vlad the other day.

Vlad raised an eyebrow like he couldn't believe Danny had to ask. "I came to see you, obviously."

"Uh, who is that?" Dash asked, frowning at the man. He already changed out of his pig costume and was shrugging on his letterman jacket.

"Daniel's boyfriend," Vlad answered, snaking an arm around the raven haired man and pulling him flush against him.

"Wait, Vlad! Gah!" Danny couldn't stop the horrible blush rising to his cheeks. They hadn't even discussed whether they were official boyfriends or anything like that! His bright blue eyes darted toward Dash, worried about the jock's reaction.

"Ah," Dash said as hurt flashed briefly in his eyes. "You were just trying to let me down easy because you already had someone?" He shook his head. "You should have just said that in the first place."

"I, uh-" Danny blinked, surprised that Dash didn't explode in some rage. A part of him still felt guilty, knowing that Dash liked him, but Danny couldn't change that he liked Vlad and not Dash.

"We weren't telling anyone just yet," Vlad answered smoothly. "It was still new to both of us, and we weren't sure if it would work out. But," he smirked with his attention solely on Danny, "I suppose there's no harm in letting people know now." Before Danny couldn't think to protest, Vlad leaned in to kiss him. Sighing into the kiss, Danny gave up the fight and wrapped his arms around the man.


End file.
